Bediako turns out to be “Angry Chuck” while defeating Maryland.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – There’s nothing sweeter than revenge, especially on the biggest stage.
While many college basketball fans watched as Alabama and Maryland competed for a spot in the Sweet 16, Charles Bediako had his own personal contest against Maryland’s Julian Reese. With Bediako representing IMG Academy and Reese defending St. Frances Academy, the Maryland forward had one of his better games against the Canadian in 2020.
Three years later, Bediako defeated Reese when the Crimson Tide clinched their ticket to the Sweet 16 thanks to a 73-51 win over the Terapins.
“It was kind of a personal game for me,” Bediako said. “I played against him in high school and his team brought out the best in my team. I played well but they won. … I can’t remember but I’m pretty sure we lost by 11, so when I saw him today I said, ‘Ok, it’s a bit of a revenge game.’ I was glad we came to a positive end.”
The cheerful Bediako was a little more serious than usual before the game, and that pent-up aggression reached new heights when Reese scored 40 seconds into the game.
“I saw it in his eyes, it was like, ‘No, that’s never going to happen again,'” Nimari Burnett said. “That’s the kind of mentality Charles can get into. He can literally knock out the opponent. To see him become the anchor of our defense throughout the season is especially exciting to watch at this time of year.”
Reese and Bediako bumped into each other all night, and the two engaged in some trash talk after battling for rebounds. The mouth’s height peaked when the 7-footer made his best impression of Dennis Rodman, flipping the ball in the air twice before finally snapping it away from Reese, resulting in an offensive foul.
Bediako held up four fingers and counted how many fouls the Maryland forward had in the game, which was met with an eye roll, and Resse pleaded his case to the official.
The idea of Bediako talking trash brought a smile to Burnett’s face, who received some quips from the center during practice.
“He says little things if you don’t hear it, that’s up to you, but that’s how he feels,” Burnett said. “Whether they hear it or not, or whether we hear it or not, you can see it on his face when he gets those stops.”
While Bediako showed plenty of his mean streak and held Reese to 14 points and two rebounds, accepting the mantra as Alabama’s rim protector has been a bit of a process for him. His gentle giant demeanor off court doesn’t mix with the snarl of rim guards, but Jahvon Quinerly is one of those teammates who constantly forces him to be a little meaner on the ground.
“I love the kind of person he is, but sometimes I tell him, ‘Bro, you’re too nice. Sometimes you gotta be mean,'” Quinerly said. “I’m just really happy for him. I’ve really seen him grow and he’s been great for us.”
Bediako’s growl became the nudge Alabama needed to bring down a physical Maryland team. After recording his third double-double of the season, Alabama head coach Nate Oats is hoping he’ll wrap up his role as “Angry Chuck” when the team travels to Louisville.
“He speaks very softly,” said Oats. “But the whole angry Chuck deal is very true. There’s a side to him that comes out when we need to bring it out. Part of his offensive rebounds is that he plays aggressively and hard. Punishment of the switches. He takes her to the guards. He also takes them to the Bigs.
