Shades of Draymond Green: Mo Dioubate bringing toughness to Tide

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Coming off a rebounding “debacle” at Georgia on Wednesday, Alabama head coach Nate Oats challenged his players to bounce back against a Mississippi State squad that had only been out-rebounded once all season entering its 22nd game of the year.

The Crimson Tide made it two with a 48-37 edge on the glass in its blowout 99-67 victory.

Oats was especially proud of the effort freshman forward Mouhamed Dioubate, who paced the team with nine rebounds and scored a career-high 14 points in 19 minutes of action.

“Mo Dioubate, I thought, played really well against Mississippi State at their place,” Oats said. “We ended up getting him almost 20 minutes. He led us rebounding. Shoot, he was one rebound away from a double-double. I thought that’s the best game he’s probably played. 

“He’s getting more comfortable. He’s getting tougher. Playing a spacing big like Grant (Nelson) at the five helps us be able to play Dioubate a little bit more at the four. He’s helping us.”

Dioubate was one of four Alabama players to score in double figures in Saturday’s dominant showing against the Bulldogs, and it was the first double-digit scoring effort of Dioubate’s young career. His nine rebounds and 19 minutes were also career-highs for the freshman.

Dioubate was also the recipient of the Hard Hat Award, which is given to the Alabama player with the most blue-collar points at the end of every game. It marked the first time this year that the freshman received the honor, and he detailed his approach to Oats’ effort plays.

“Just being a dog, man,” Dioubate said. “Just trying to go get it every possession I can. I know if I do that, it’s going to create opportunities for me on offense, so I just try to try my best and play hard the whole game and do the little things that matter.”

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Dioubate needed surgery when he enrolled at Alabama, which led to him missing most of the team’s offseason work. Oats noted that the newcomer is now getting comfortable with how “we want him to play,” and admitted the Tide staff had to figure out a plan for Dioubate.

While Nelson has started the last three games at the five spot with four guards in the lineup with him, Dioubate is tough enough to be a “small-ball five” for this Alabama team. That is a role that Oats has pitched to the 6-foot-7, 215-pound forward as his minutes increase. And he has used a four-time NBA Champion and Defensive Player of the Year as an example.

“Draymond Green played small-ball five for the Warriors, and they won a few championships with him doing it,” Oats said. “He’s a similar size to Draymond. We actually showed him a lot of Draymond clips. And Draymond is an OK shooter, but Mo Dioubate can make a three but he’s much better handling it, getting to the rim, getting his teammates open.

“We’ve had to kind of teach how to play in our five-out offense without being a great shooter. How do you get your teammates open? How do you find angles to get to the rim? If you put him out there with Grant at the five and Grant can shoot, space the other team’s five, or if the five ends up on him, he can drive the five. So he’s got more comfortable in our offense.”

Like was on display Saturday, Dioubate plays with a toughness that UA wants – and needs.

“Nobody really wants to guard him because he’s going to come downhill and you’re going to take a shoulder through your chin,” Oats said. “He plays with some force and some physicality, and he rebounds hard. We needed a little of that, so when he was able to get comfortable enough we could put him in more, I thought it made us tougher. 

“Shoot, he got in tonight, had a tough second-chance point, got the O board, made a tough play in the first half. That’s what he does.”

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