Over the last seven games, Dioubate is third on the team in scoring, averaging 11.3 points per game. He’s also second in rebounding, pulling down 5.4 boards per contest. All of this despite playing just over 21 minutes per game. Dioubate has even connected on half (3 of 6) of his three-point attempts over the last seven contests.
On Thursday, UK head coach Mark Pope was asked about Dioubate and what he has meant to the team this season.
“There’s no surprise to us that Mo Dioubate is a positive plus-minus guy,” Pope said. “He brings so much intensity and physicality and brings so much to our team. In a lot of ways he has been the defensive emotional heart and soul of our group. When he’s great, we are great almost without fail. He bears a big burden on our team. Lucky he is with us.”
On Friday, Kentucky will face Santa Clara from the West Coast Conference. The Broncos are coached by Herb Sendek, who was an assistant coach at Kentucky under Rick Pitino. In fact, it was Sendek who first reached out to Pope during the recruiting process. Pope had high praise for Sendek.
“He was the first coach at the University of Kentucky to reach out to me in the recruiting process,” Pope said. “I fell in love with him in our first phone conversation. He is not just brilliant, he is way too smart to be in this game, but he also is one of the best people you will ever meet. Like he does things the right way. He cares about people. He cares about his program. He cares about doing the right thing. He cares about representing. He’s a kind-hearted, wildly intelligent, devoted coach, and he has been a good friend to me. I love him dearly.”
Pope obviously has fond feelings for Sendek, but that will go out the window for about two and a half hours on Friday as both coaches try to help their teams advance to Sunday.