Mo Dioubate jokes that his return to Alabama will not be fun

Mo Dioubate made his way from one high-profile SEC program to another. Kentucky was able to land the former Alabama player out of the NCAA transfer portal, a massive win for Mark Pope. Dioubate is hoping his basketball career can take off even further in Lexington after a nice start under Nate Oats.

New beginnings can always be fun, especially at a place like Kentucky. However, one aspect of the transfer Dioubate is not looking forward to is facing Alabama. Specifically at Coleman Coliseum, a place he called home for two years.

“It’s fun, it’s fun,” Dioubate said. “Probably the only fun that’s not going to be — probably if I go back to Bama, probably. That’s probably the only thing about it. But it’s just basketball at the end of the day. We all compete and we all have a goal we all want to reach. Hopefully, the fans and the people respect it. It’s a basketball decision.”

Turns out, Dioubate will get his return to Tuscaloosa. No official dates have been announced but the SEC did release home and away opponents for the 2025-2026 season. Alabama will host Kentucky, while no return to Rupp Arena is on the agenda.

Plenty of familiar faces will be on the other side. Oats brought back a lot of the roster, highlighted by guys like Latrell Wrightsell and Aden Holloway. At the same time, similar to Kentucky, the transfer portal was hit hard by Alabama. Both teams are looking to compete for an SEC regular season title before turning attention to the national championship.

Maybe Dioubate can ask Otega Oweh how to deal with the emotions. Oweh famously scored 28 points in his return to Norman, single-handedly beating Oklahoma down the stretch last season. A great late-season win at the time, Dioubate might be searching for something similar in his own reunion.

Dioubate was on the winning end of all three Alabama-Kentucky matchups last season. The Crimson Tide won both meetings in the regular season before facing off in the SEC Tournament. A Friday night in Bridgestone Arena usually finds success for the Wildcats but not this go-round.

So, maybe a double serving of revenge will be on Dioubate’s mind. There appears to still be a ton of love for Alabama, calling his decision to transfer “a basketball” one. As for how Alabama fans will react, we will have to wait and see.