Golden on Bediako return: 'We'll beat 'em anyways'

Florida coach Todd Golden said Thursday he doesn’t agree that Charles Bediako should be able to play for Alabama this season.

But he also said if Bediako is allowed to suit up when the teams meet Feb. 1 in Gainesville, it’s not going to matter.

“We’re going to beat ’em anyways,” Golden said during an appearance on “Gator Talk.” “If he plays, we’ll beat ’em anyways.”

Bediako’s situation is the latest to stir controversy in the sport. He was a former Crimson Tide standout who declared for the 2023 NBA draft, went undrafted and then signed a two-way contract with the San Antonio Spurs that year.

He sued the NCAA earlier this week after it denied Alabama’s appeal to allow him to return to college basketball. But Wednesday, an Alabama judge granted a temporary restraining order, allowing him to return to the Crimson Tide and college basketball immediately.

The case could reshape the sport at a turbulent time. Although the NCAA has recently cleared international players with professional experience and G League players, those athletes had not previously played college basketball. This is the first time a player who entered an NBA draft and signed an NBA contract after playing college basketball has been given the chance to return to Division I hoops.

Golden told Gator Talk” that he doesn’t think Bediako should be allowed to do so.

“But I also don’t necessarily fault [Alabama coach] Nate Oats because this is a very competitive space, and it’s our jobs to win games and do everything we can to be the best program in our specific league,” Golden said.

“This guy had a great opportunity. He was at Alabama for two years. He played there, he was there during the NIL era. He was aware of what he was giving up by declaring to go to the draft. He stayed in past the date. That’s always been, if you stay in, you sign a contract, you’re done. So it’s a slippery slope.”

The judge’s ruling Wednesday came hours after NCAA president Charlie Baker reiterated that Bediako and other players who have signed NBA contracts would not be granted eligibility to play college basketball. But in the ruling, Judge James H. Roberts Jr. of the Tuscaloosa (Alabama) Circuit Court ruled that the NCAA is “restrained from threatening, imposing, attempting to impose, suggesting or implying any penalties or sanctions” against Bediako, Alabama, its coaches or players.

Golden acknowledged that schools and conferences have their hands tied in such situations — “With all this intervention from judges, there’s only so much the league can do, there’s only so much other member schools in the league can do,” he said — but he’d still like these types of situations in college basketball avoided going forward.

“We just need some people to stand up and start taking a stand,” he told “Gator Talk.”

The temporary restraining order is valid for 10 days. A full hearing on Bediako’s request for a preliminary injunction will happen Tuesday — five days before the Alabama-Florida game.

Information from ESPN’s Myron Medcalf was used in this report.