Mo Dioubate worked with campers not long after arriving at Kentucky. (Vicky Graff Photo)
John Calipari has moved on from Kentucky he is still making an impact on the UK basketball program.
Alabama transfer Mo Dioubate played in a Final Four with the Crimson Tide but admitted to BBN Tonight’s Maggie Davis last week that he grew up in Queens as a Kentucky fan.
“Since I was a kid, Kentucky was my dream school. A lot of people don’t know that,” Dioubate told Davis. “Kentucky was my dream school. To wear the jersey and to play with it, it’s like the best thing that could have happened to me so far in my life.”
Dioubate was 13 years old when he watched De’Aaron Fox, Bam Adebayo and Malik Monk, all current NBA players, play for Calipari at Kentucky.
“I always tell guys, don’t ever think you can’t achieve a goal or something. I even doubted myself for a while. I didn’t think I could play here,” Diorite told Davis. “I didn’t think I was able to coming out of high school with the schools I was offered, where I was projected. I just can’t wait to put the jersey on and play in front of the fans.”
Dioubate played at Putnam Science Academy, the same school where former UK standout Hamidou Diallo played. After Dioubate committed to UK, Diallo shared some advice with the new Cat.
“Stay in the gym. There’s going to be a lot of distractions that come your way. Stay in the gym and stay focused,” Dioubate said Diallo told him.
Still, Dioubate admitted he was a bit in awe of being at Kentucky where he first arrived at the Joe Craft Center.
“I was there by myself, and I was thinking, ‘Damn, I’m really here. It really happened,’” Dioubate said. “It still feels like a dream sometimes.”
2 Responses
Most kids no matter were your from love Kentucky because usually there favorite NBA player played for Kentucky. One thing Coach Cal did do in his time at Kentucky was bring in the best talent available. Now actually getting these kids to reach there potential was something he struggled with. The thing that Cal was great at is actually what destroyed him. He could have dominated college basketball if he would have utilized the transfer portal better. Its like he went after complete duds as transfers.
Dioubate and Aberdeen are definite upgrades at their respective positions. Lowe, Williams, and Jelavic are going to exceed expectations as well. Garrison and Oweh will have monster seasons. Quaintance is the wild card. He will ultimately be the difference if we win No. 9.