A longer version from Sweeney:
The implications could be far reaching if Bediako is allowed to return to college basketball. A few of the potential precedents it could set:
- A player being able to leave college basketball and then come back could open the floodgates for a number of other former college stars to be recruited this spring by college teams. Among those: Judah Mintz, a former star at Syracuse, and RJ Luis Jr., last season’s Big East Player of the Year at St. John’s. Schools have had exploratory conversations with both players’ representatives about potential college options for 2025–26.
- If the NCAA’s withdrawal deadline isn’t enforceable, there is little incentive for players not to enter the draft, see where they are selected (if selected at all) and then make a decision on whether to return to college. That could also seriously impact the NBA: As of now, players can only go through the NBA draft process once, and if a player could go undrafted, return to college and then emerge on NBA radars, they might be classified as free agents and be able to bypass the draft altogether. Notably, Sports Illustrated reported earlier in January that NBA commissioner Adam Silver had met with Baker in New York to discuss, among other things, new changes to eligibility standards.
- While technically, Bediako being granted eligibility wouldn’t be bringing a former NBA player back to college, it would cast serious doubt about the NCAA’s ability to enforce its stance that players who’ve played in NBA games can’t return to school. And though those types of situations seem likely to be relatively rare (especially in a world in which players choose to stay in college longer than in the past because of the amount of money they can make there), it’d certainly be a significant development.
There’s also the conversation of what it could mean for Alabama’s team this season. The team’s Achilles heel all season has been its defense, ranking No. 66 nationally per KenPom compared to its No. 2-ranked offense. Bediako could immediately change that. Alabama was the third-best defense nationally in Bediako’s final season at Alabama and was essential in them becoming the nation’s best two-point defense. Adding a player of his caliber could give Alabama’s SEC championship and Final Four hopes a massive boost.
The attorney that CB has hired? I've seen his name before. I can't remember where or in what context. I can say my first reaction to seeing his name again was a "TEMU Tom Mars." In simpler terms they are two who leave destruction in their wake, often.
What strikes me as odd here is I think the attorney is missing a big piece of this picture.
Did he make a decision he regrets when leaving UA? I believe we all believed so then, and now: he was just a little late to the game. But, here's my point.
Did the NCAA force him into this situation? As I recall he was denied NIL opportunities by the NCAA: he wasn't a natural born citizen. (Canada, wasn't it?) The NCAA rules, he makes the decision to move to the pro's, partly (or largely) due to his financial situation and the constraints BY the NCAA. I'm fairly confident this rule has since been changed/amended.
My degree in "fictional lawyers" leads me to think the foundation of my arguments against the NCAA are just that, "you created the hardship" by not allowing him to do what other players were doing. And here we go again...
My degrees in the "physiological sciences" tells me the judge(s) that will hear this case look at the NCAA (and its lawyers) like a traffic judge would a guy arguing a speeding ticket who has five DUI's in the last few years. It's not a favorable atmosphere.
My degree in psychopharmacology tells me they are all on drugs.