Lombardi Lineup: Why are “G-League dropouts” playing college basketball?

By the time Alabama’s Charles Bediako walked into Coleman Coliseum this winter, the catcalls were already waiting. “G-League dropout” chants rained down from student sections across the SEC, a mocking reminder that the 23-year-old center had already tried the professional route—and failed. On Monday, the NCAA officially slammed the door on his comeback, ruling Bediako ineligible and ending a month-long legal saga that exposed a widening loophole in college basketball’s definition of amateurism.

Bediako’s path was anything but conventional. After two seasons in Tuscaloosa from 2021-23, he declared for the NBA draft, went undrafted, and signed a two-way deal with the San Antonio Spurs. A meniscus tear cut that experiment short; the Spurs waived him and most assumed his next stop would be overseas. Instead, Bediako re-enrolled at Alabama last fall, persuaded that a temporary restraining order secured in state court would allow him to suit up while he challenged the NCAA’s bylaws.

The maneuver worked—briefly. A Tuscaloosa judge sided with Bediako’s argument that international players such as Baylor’s James Nnaji were being granted four full years of eligibility despite professional experience abroad. The difference, in the NCAA’s eyes, was language: Nnaji never signed an NBA contract and never attended college, while Bediako had done both. When the governing body denied his initial waiver, Bediako sued, claiming the explosion of name-image-likeness money after his first collegiate stint created an “uneven playing field.”

The courtroom victory lasted only weeks. On Monday, the same court dissolved the restraining order, accepting the NCAA’s position that Bediako’s professional contract violated amateurism rules. Association president Charlie Baker, who had publicly bristled at the judicial override, praised the outcome: “Common sense won a round today.”

Alabama now forfeits the six games Bediako played, but the ripple effect stretches far beyond one program. Santa Clara’s Thierry Darlan—who bypassed college for the G League Ignite—has been practicing with the Broncos while the NCAA weighs whether his pre-college professional experience disqualifies him. Former UCLA guard Amari Bailey, owner of 10 NBA appearances with Charlotte, has taken visits to multiple Division I schools and is preparing a similar lawsuit after the NCAA informed him his signed NBA deal makes a waiver impossible.

Legal experts warn that Bediako’s defeat may not deter future challenges. “The courts showed they can force the NCAA to the table,” said one sports-law attorney familiar with the case. “If public opinion keeps shifting toward player compensation, judges might start looking for ways to let these athletes back in.”

For now, the line appears fixed: sign an NBA contract, forfeit collegiate eligibility. Yet the incentive to test that boundary grows each year as seven-figure NIL deals proliferate. Coaches privately worry that roster spots could soon be occupied by 24-year-old former pros rather than 18-year-old freshmen, fundamentally altering recruiting calendars and development pathways.

The NCAA has signaled it will fight each case in court, but the governing body’s larger amateurism framework faces mounting pressure. With players already skipping college to play in the G League and then attempting returns after injuries or releases, the sport creeps closer to a de facto secondary professional league—one where eligibility hinges on legal strategy as much as transcripts.

College basketball, for the moment, has dodged that reality. Bediako’s denial reinforces the old rule: once a pro, always a pro. How long that rule survives the next lawsuit remains an open question.