Alabama basketball sophomore forward Mouhamed Dioubate is one of the Tide's most unheralded players, but also one of its most important. Dioubate does the dirty work. He's the glue guy, the embodiment of Alabama's blue-collar nature.
Following a disappointing performance in Tuesday's loss to Ole Miss where Alabama fell short because they lost the Blue-Collar stuff. So it made sense that Nate Oats would call on the guy who wears the Hard Hat with pride and brings energy and effort in everything to help the Tide against Kentucky in Lexington.
Dioubate only played 15 minutes against Kentucky before fouling out as he picked up a couple of cheap fouls throughout the game. But in those 15 minutes, Alabama was an absurd +21 with Dioubate on the court.
It was a toss-up game in Lexington, but Dioubate was the difference. Alabama dominated Kentucky in the minutes he was on the court. Dioubate finished with 8 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal in his minutes.
Oats would have liked to play Dioubate more minutes against Kentucky but foul trouble prevented that. Oats credited Dioubate as one of the main reasons why Alabama has played so well on the road this season:
"I think some of the guys' mentality. We've got tough kids. We kind of start with Dioubate. He wasn't phased by any of this stuff."
Unsurprising to anyone, Dioubate won the Hard Hat for his efforts against the Wildcats.
A lot of what he does doesn't show up in the stat sheet. There were two instances down the stretch in particular that helped Alabama get to the finish line with a win at Rupp. The SEC Network crew highlighted these two plays, finally allowing Dioubate to get some flowers from the media instead of just his head coach and fans.
— Tuesday | 6 CT | SECN 🐘🏀 (@UARoundballGuy) January 19, 2025
Leading 84-81 with under four minutes to play, Dioubate attacked the basket and got his shot blocked. Dioubate was able to tip the ball away from a Kentucky defender and then save it from going out-of-bounds by tapping it to Grant Nelson. That possession ultimately led to a three by Chris Youngblood that put Alabama up by six.
On the next defensive possession, Dioubate grabs a key defensive rebound. Down the floor, Youngblood gets a three-pointer blocked and then Dioubate once again makes a miraculous save and taps the ball to Mark Sears, who then kicks it out to a wide-open Labaron Philon for what proved to be the dagger three and put Alabama up 90-81 with under three minutes to play.
Mark Pope called a timeout after the three and Oats embraced Dioubate coming off the court with a hug to show his appreciation for what he did.
It's easy to see Herb Jones in Dioubate's game. I've rarely heard Oats speak so glowingly about a player. Jones is the onl
He just makes winning plays over and over again every time he steps on the floor. He's not the most athletic or the most skilled. But he's one of Alabama's most important players.
I've rarely heard Oats speak so glowingly about a player. Jones is the only other one that comes to mind.
He's a demon on the defensive end, maybe the best rebounder in the country for a guy his size, and his offensive game has grown leaps and bounds since his freshman season.
Alabama doesn't win on Saturday without him. That won't be the last time this season that statement is true.