Ex-Alabama teammates expect Mouhamed Dioubate to be a better player at Kentucky
Running down the list of his future Kentucky basketball teammates and what he knew about them, a wide grin appeared on Brandon Garrison’s face as soon as Mouhamed Dioubate’s name was mentioned.
Garrison — the Wildcats’ returning post player, listed at 6-10 and 250 pounds — was known for occasionally rubbing opponents the wrong way last season with his rough play. There were even some testy moments in UK’s practices, with Garrison’s hard screens knocking teammates off their path, leading to emotions running high.
But, on the whole, Mark Pope’s first UK team was more finesse than physical, something the Kentucky head coach clearly wanted to address heading into year two and something Garrison welcomed for the 2025-26 season.
Garrison said that — after this past season was finished — Pope let him know that there would be more size and strength in the Kentucky frontcourt moving forward. Rather than be scared away by the incoming competition, Garrison relished the thought of more guys like him.
And no newcomer illustrates Pope’s plan to beef up the UK basketball roster more than Dioubate.
“He’s very physical,” Garrison said, that smile getting wider.
The two players should know each other well by this point.
Kentucky played Alabama three times last season. The Crimson Tide won all three games, becoming just the third team in college basketball history to beat the Cats that many times in one season.
One contributing factor to the clean sweep was abundantly clear to anyone who watched: The Tide often imposed their will on the Cats, who were physically overmatched throughout those three losses, including a 99-70 beatdown in the SEC Tournament.
Dioubate — listed at 6-7 and 215 pounds with a game that plays much larger — was a big reason for that.
In a series of interviews with the Herald-Leader from the NBA Combine in Chicago, his most-celebrated Alabama teammates expressed surprise with the SEC switch, but they all think Dioubate will be a big-time player for the Wildcats moving forward.
“We beat ’em three times. So I don’t know (about) the decision that was made up there,” said Bama guard Labaron Philon, with a grin that turned more serious as he looked ahead to his old teammate’s future. “But I’m really happy for Mo — just to see the position he was able to get put in there. And I feel like he’s going to do really good. There’s no doubt in my mind.”
What Dioubate brings to Kentucky
Philon, who’s projected as a possible first-round pick in next month’s NBA draft, joined ex-Bama stars Mark Sears and Grant Nelson in raving about Dioubate’s physicality, too.
No one could speak to that subject better than Nelson, the team’s starting power forward who often matched up with Dioubate in practice over the past two seasons.
“He’s relentless on the glass. It’s like nobody I’ve ever played against,” Nelson said. “So, I mean, you guys definitely got a great player — someone who’s gonna go out there and work hard. He single-handedly won us some of our biggest games this year. When we played Houston in Vegas, I think he had — like, I don’t even know — seven O-boards? Something crazy. And just every time he comes in the game, it seems like he’s finding his way to the offensive glass.”
Dioubate had five offensive rebounds in that November victory over eventual national runner-up Houston, but he had 16 boards total in that game, and Nelson’s embellishment of the first number shows how impactful Dioubate’s presence can be in big games.
Pope didn’t hide his desire for more effective offensive rebounding this past season, and being able to get to the glass for second chances is key for his 3-point-heavy approach. UK was 13th in the SEC in offensive rebounding rate last season. Dioubate ranked in the top 100 nationally in individual offensive rebounding rate.
After playing two seasons under Nate Oats at Alabama, he should also be able to transition to Pope’s system relatively quickly.
“I think he’ll be good there,” Nelson said. “I know they run kind of a similar offense to how Alabama runs. Just playing them, they’re similar — run and gun, they want to get a shot off as quick as they can, and then they crash the offensive glass, obviously, hard. So I think it will be a good system for him. I mean, no matter where he goes, I think he’ll be good.”
Nelson and the other Crimson Tide players are also expecting to see more of Dioubate’s skill set. In fact, they’ve already seen it during practices, and they’re confident an expanded opportunity at Kentucky will lead to new wrinkles in actual games.
This past season, Dioubate averaged 7.2 points and 5.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.7 blocks and 0.9 steals in just 16.0 minutes per game. He also shot 46.2% from 3-point range, though he got off just 26 total attempts.
As of now, he appears to be a leading candidate to be Pope’s starting 4 next season. With another offseason to grow and, presumably, more playing time at Kentucky, a breakout could be in Dioubate’s immediate future.
“He’s sneaky athletic. He can get up,” Nelson said. “And he’s got skill that he didn’t really get to show much at Alabama. But as he starts to come out of his shell, I think he’ll continue to show his skill and how he is with his physicality getting downhill.”
“He can get to the rim on anybody. He’s really explosive,” Philon added.
Sears, the program’s leader for both of Dioubate’s college seasons, agreed.
“He got more game. He’s really got more game than what he showed (at Alabama),” he said. “So next year, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him come down, handle the ball and hit ’em with a move and get to the cup. He’s a really physical driver, and he’s got some handle for his size.”
And off the court — away from the bright lights of game day — it seems that Pope has found another positive culture fit for his vision of what Kentucky basketball should be.
“He’s a great teammate. He’s really funny,” said Philon, a freshman this past season. “I feel like he brings the best out of guys. He’s really competitive. He’s really strong. He loves playing basketball.”
Sears pointed out that Dioubate didn’t get to play all that much toward the end of Alabama’s Final Four run two seasons ago — just 15 minutes total over the team’s final three NCAA Tournament games — but there was zero sign of pouting amid the team’s success.
“He’s a great teammate,” Sears said. “Go back to our Final Four run, he wasn’t playing a lot, but he still had a lot of high energy. And when he got his shot, he just always worked hard. … He’s a dog. He’s like a Dennis Rodman. A skilled Dennis Rodman.”
Rodman is arguably the greatest rebounder in basketball history.
And while Sears, who is out of college eligibility, was as surprised as anyone that his teammate would leave a program that went to the Final Four last year and the Elite Eight this past season, he said he’s been in contact with Dioubate since the decision was made and told him that he would be cheering for Kentucky — “when they’re not playing Bama” — for as long as he’s there.
“Mo — that’s my guy, and I told him that I’m gonna root for him even if he’s not wearing the Crimson. I just hope he succeeds.”
This story was originally published May 22, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
