Alabama coach Nate Oats acknowledges they're missing Mo Dioubate's toughness

Oats says if you want to improve your team's toughness, you need a guy like Mo Dioubate. That's what Alabama had, and now, they're struggling with their toughness without him.

Dec 20, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Mouhamed Dioubate (23) handles the ball against the St. John Red Storm in the first half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Former Alabama player-turned Kentucky Wildcat, Mo Dioubate, was an absolute force under coach Nate Oats in Tuscaloosa last season. He began to become a familiar face for Kentucky fans, as he was the reason Otega Oweh's double-digit points streak ended. He shut down Oweh, who was one of the best players in a conference full of stacked individual talent. Dioubate made him feel small, not just once, but all three times they faced the Wildcats and won.

Heading into Saturday, things feel different, as Dioubate is now donning the blue and white instead of the crimson red for Bama. Mark Pope saw what he did to Kentucky, specifically Oweh, in two of their three matchups against each other. In Tuscaloosa, the 6-7 forward held Oweh to just 2 points on 1-9 shooting from the field in their 13-point win over Kentucky. In the SEC Tournament, Dioubate held the reigning All-SEC guard to 2 points on 1-9 shooting, before helping lead the Tide to a 29-point win. It's worth noting that in their matchup of the season, in Lexington, Oweh put up 21 points. What was the difference in the other two? Putting Dioubate on Oweh.

Last season at Alabama, Dioubate averaged 8.8 points and 5.8 rebounds in 16.5 minutes per game under Nate Oats. He was a clear catalyst for the team, always displaying his toughness when he's on the court. You could just ask Oweh how tough the versatile forward is, who is now cementing himself as a massive piece for this Kentucky team, especially with his energy on defense and the glass, but let his former coach tell you himself. Oats knows Dioubate better than anyone, and with Alabama struggling with their toughness this season they could really use a former player right about now.

Mar 27, 2025; Newark, NJ, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide forward Mouhamed Dioubate (10) on the bench during the first half against the Brigham Young Cougars during an East Regional semifinal of the 2025 NCAA tournament at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Oats was asked about how a team can fix their toughness issues, and this was his response: "Recruit a guy like Mo Dioubate. You didn’t really have to coach him to be tough. He was tough. That’s who he is. Certain coaches and teams always tend to be a little tougher, so there is definitely some coachability to it. If it’s one of those deals where you’re rating the toughness factor from zero to ten, I don’t think you’re taking a guy who starts at a one and moving him to a ten. You can move a guy who is a four or a five and get him to a seven or eight. Maybe you can take a guy who is an eight and move him up to a ten, but you’re not taking a guy who is inherently soft and making him the toughest dude on the court. You gotta have some fight and determination, toughness and some grit about you. As a coach, I can try to demand it, but you have to want to do it and it’s gotta be who you are."

Tough is exactly what Dioubate is, as Oats said. That is clearly why Mark Pope wasted no time going after Dioubate, who was a headache for Kentucky to deal with in each of the three matchups, which were all losses for Kentucky. Last season, Kentucky struggled dealing with physical and tough teams, and Dioubate oozes that. Now, he's on Kentucky's side ready to prove his worth on the opposite side this time as Kentucky gets ready to face Alabama on Saturday.