Report: Alabama center Charles Bediako suffered 'minor' knee injury, day-to-day per Nate Oats

Alabama head basketball coach Nate Oats revealed that starting center Charles Bediako suffered an injury in the team’s last game versus Auburn. Per a report from college basketball insider John Rothstein, Bediako suffered a minor knee injury versus the Tigers that makes his injury status day-to-day according to Oats.

“He did have a minor knee injury during the Auburn game and played through it,” Oats said. “It’s day-to-day. He’s gotten better every day since the Auburn game, so we’ll see where he’s at tomorrow.”

Bediako has started all 25 games this season for the Crimson Tide at the center spot. He’s averaged 5.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game for Alabama, and has been a defensive forced for the Crimson Tide all season, recording six blocks and two steals in their last two contests.

The No. 1 ranked Crimson Tide face the SEC’s only other ranked team, No. 10 Tennessee, on Wednesday. And his presence in the paint would surely be missed in one of the team’s biggest games of the season, as they look to remain undefeated in conference play.

More on Bediako

Out of high school, Bediako was a four-star prospect out of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. He was ranked the No. 6 ranked center in the nation and No. 36 overall prospect in the 2021 class according to On3 Consensus, and chose Alabama over schools like Michigan, Duke, Tennessee, Baylor, and other top programs across the country.

Bediako made an immediate impact in his freshman season, starting all but three games for the Crimson Tide a season ago. He played 17.8 minutes per game for Alabama averaging 4.3 rebounds and 6.7 points a game on an impressive team-leading 69.2% field goal percentage.

This season in his sophomore year, his role only increased as the team’s anchor in the paint and defensive force. Like last season, he leads the team in blocks per game yet again with 1.6 per game, with five games this season with three or more blocks.

His staple game of the season was versus Kentucky, when he shut down former National Player of the year Oscar Tshiebwe. Tshiebwe has averaged 15.7 points and a nation-leading 13.3 rebounds per game, but versus Alabama recorded just four points and six rebounds thanks to the stellar defense of Bediako.