Jay Benefield

Chales Bediako mini FAQ 1. He's TAKING AWAY AN OPPORTUNITY FROM A HIGH SCHOOL PLAYER WHO COULD GET A SCHOLARSHIP. No. Even if he plays the rest of this season, he will not be on the roster beyond this season. 2. Then he's taking away opportunity from THIS YEAR'S roster. They'll get mad and transfer! Aiden Sherrell is our starting 5. One of his backups has played 11 minutes (total) and is out with a heart issue. Another one of his backups has played 10 games and has been out with a foot issue. His other backup averages fewer than 10 minutes per game. Two other Bama players have been out as well. So no, not really. The one healthy backup, Noah Williamson, barely plays anyway and has no remaining eligibility. 3. But he's not even enrolled as a student! Actually he is. Recently re-enrolled. Working toward finishing his degree. 4. Baylor's James Nnaji started this. But that's TOTALLY different. Yes. Nnaji actually got SELECTED in the NBA draft. Bediako didn't. (Yes, Bediako signed two-way and Exhibit 10 NBA contracts. He also never played in an NBA game. The Euro League is considered higher quality than the G League. Several teams are playing former European pros.) 5. The NCAA should just ban Bama from the NCAA Tournament ... or not count any game in which Bediako plays! The court ruling expressly prohibits that. If the NCAA ignores it, it will be in contempt of court and facing restitution and a huge legal issue. 6. Is Bediako for sure back for good? No. Bama plans to play him Saturday assuming all goes well in practice this week. The temporary injunction lasts until a hearing on Jan. 27. We'll see after that. 7. But this is just ridiculous and should not happen! You're right. Bama fans pretty much agree. Even Nate Oats agrees. But Nick Saban once said about new rules favoring the offense: "is this really what we want football to be?" -- then went on to exploit those rules better than anyone. Bama did not decide "this is a good idea." But we have as much right to operate within this landscape as your team does. 8. Well, how does Bediako fit from a basketball standpoint? In 2022-23, Nate Oats and Bama (gasp!) put a KenPom top 5 defense on the court. Yes, it included current NBA players Brandon Miller (6-7) and Noah Clowney (6-10) hounding the perimeter with current Arizona guard Jaden Bradley. But Bama played a ton of drop coverage with Bediako and did not worry about blow-bys with Bediako protecting the rim. Finished third in the country (!) in Evan Miya's individual defensive metric that year. In a year with Zach Edey, Donovan Clingan, Johni Broome, Colin Castleton, Derrick Lively II, Kyle Filipowski and others. He was a decent/adequate rebounder but a limited junk player on offense (mostly putbacks). Also couldn't play more than 15-20 min. a game with the Nate Oats tempo. He figures to give Bama a mind-blowing upgrade at the backup 5. Immediate help protecting the rim and rebounding. Assuming he assimilates fast, maybe 5-15 minutes a game. Would not expect a lot of two-man lineups with Sherrell and Bediako. But he fits Bama's exact position of need (backup 5) and exact skillset of need (rim protection, rebounding). If this works, at best, it elevates Bama one or two seed lines. If Latrell Wrightsell gets back to himself AND Bediako is an approximation of his most recent season at Bama, this is MAYBE a fringe national title contender. Trelly ruptured his Achilles last season and has not been able to get healthy. He shot over 40% from 3 the last two seasons and is the best perimeter defender on this team per Nate Oats (just 10 games, 26.9% from 3 this season, currently out). Bama's offense has been Top 5 all season. The defense has been anywhere from the mid-30s to nearly 80th. Generally you need a top 30 defense to win a title. Bediako and Trelly BOTH at their best could deliver that, but that's not very likely.

HEARTWARMING: At Alabama, #Eagles QB Jalen Hurts befriended Walt Gary, a superfan with Down syndrome. Walt said that one day, Jalen would win the Super Bowl. Sadly, Walt passed in 2019. Last year, Hurts honored Walt by winning the Super Bowl for him. teapawt.net/Fatslob1123/status/200…