Mouhamed Dioubate Likes Being a Main Character at UK

Kentucky fans make players feel special year round. (Vicky Graff Photo)

Kentucky coach Mark Pope doesn’t have unlimited access to his program but he certainly makes himself, his coaches and his players available a lot to various media outlets most of the year.

This week Pope opened practice to The Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman and Rob Dauster and that gave Alabama transfer Mouhamed Dioubate a chance to compare what it is like to be a basketball player at Alabama and now Kentucky.

“It’s a different lifestyle for sure. Even though I came from Alabama, we got a lot of love and appreciation from the people, but Kentucky is just basketball. They live and breathe basketball. So, it’s a different feeling. You feel like the main characters,” Dioubate said in his interview.

Alabama has had a big-time national program in recent years under coach Nate Oats. But football, not basketball, rules in Alabama and that likely will never change. Kentucky fans never quit talking about basketball and expecting national championships just like the Alabama football fan does.

Pittsburgh transfer guard Jaland Lowe thought he knew what to expect at Kentucky. He admitted on The Field of 68 show that he was not ready.

“It’s completely different for me and I never really expected it. I always see Kentucky growing up, just a great basketball team, great basketball players, the people around,” Lowe said. “But, when you’re actually here, surrounded by the fans and the people, it’s second to none.

“That’s another reason why Kentucky wins a lot. We pour our hearts onto that court because these fans pour into us. At the end of the day, it’s an amazing and cool feeling to have these fans with us.”