Has Mo Dioubate earned more playing time for Alabama basketball? What Nate Oats said
LOS ANGELES — Alabama basketball wouldn't likely still be playing if not for Mo Dioubate.
The freshman forward played a vital role in keeping the Crimson Tide alive in the NCAA Tournament with how he played in the second half against Grand Canyon.
"He won us the game in the last five minutes," guard Mark Sears said Sunday in Spokane.
Dioubate grabbed five rebounds and scored nine points over 13 minutes of playing time in the Round of 32.
Did that effort earn Dioubate, a reserve player, more playing time for the Sweet 16 and beyond? Here's what Nate Oats said when asked the question before No. 4 seed Alabama plays No. 1 seed UNC on Thursday (8:40 p.m. CT approximately, CBS).
"He's been tough, physical," Oats said. "His attitude's been great. We always know, if we put him in, we can get some toughness. We've got to find a way to get him some minutes. We like to have shooting on the floor, and it's not one of his strong suits. He was shooting well in practice today. But he's easier to pair with like Grant (Nelson) at the 5 maybe. Then you still only have one non-shooter on the floor.
"But like his toughness, physicality, kind of his will to win. Yeah, he's probably earned some more minutes. We've just got to figure out ways to get him (more minutes). And based on how (Latrell) Wrightsell is, Wrightsell has been cleared to play before and then hasn't played that many minutes. So even if he can play, if he doesn't play that many minutes there going to be minutes available for Mo to pick up."
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Dioubate saw 13 minutes against Grand Canyon after he played 18 minutes against Charleston in the first round. Before that, though, he didn't see more than seven minutes over the previous five games.
Dioubate said he has tried to stay ready for when his opportunity arrived, and it did against Grand Canyon.
"My approach was the same going into every other game," Dioubate said. "When I get in, I try to do the dirty work. That creates opportunity for me on offense. That’s what I try to do every game."
Nick Kelly is the Alabama beat writer for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network, and he covers Alabama football and men's basketball. Reach him at nkelly@gannett.com or follow him @_NickKelly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Mo Dioubate: Has he earned more playing time for Alabama basketball?
