Tom Izzo addressed the Charles Bediako situation on Thursday after practice, saying that he’s unhappy with the coaches as well as the NCAA for allowing this to continue.
Michigan State recruited Bediako when he was in high school and Izzo missed out on him to Alabama. If he had chosen Michigan State in the first place, we wouldn’t even be talking about this. Izzo never would have lobbied for him to return to college three years after leaving. He may also be still developing on a national title-contending roster, being molded into an NBA draft prospect under Izzo and Saddi Washington.
Don’t believe me? Look at what Izzo and Saddi have done with Carson Cooper and Jaxon Kohler this season and what they’re inevitably going to do to Jesse McCulloch, Cam Ward, and Ethan Taylor.
That’s beside the point. Michigan State fans — and really all college basketball fans — should be furious about this situation because it’s the beginning of the end for the sport.
And the more that comes out about it just makes everything — and everyone — look much worse.
New details in the Charles Bediako situation are infuriating
On Friday evening, a new report surfaced about the judge who granted Bediako temporary eligibility with a restraining order against the NCAA being an Alabama booster. Not a good look.
There was clearly a conflict of interest with the judge and the player seeking eligibility, and it feels like this is something that could become a trend if the NCAA seek legal help to put a stop to it. This feels like a mess that’s just going to keep spreading throughout the sport. Coaches are going to get former players to return and use alumni judges to get them back immediately.
Maybe I’m over-exaggerating or overthinking this, but it feels like this is about to spiral into a complete mess in college sports, more than it is already.
Izzo was right about the transfer portal, and now he’s right about this. He’s already said that he won’t be following these other coaches who are snagging three-year pros to join their teams immediately, which is the honorable thing to do, but it feels like this may end up being his last straw with the profession.