Mo Dioubate 'almost died' trying to pass Mark Pope's conditioning test

Mark Pope told Big Blue Nation to pray for the Kentucky Wildcats as they prepared for their first-day conditioning test back on June 17 — and for good reason.

The second-year coach in Lexington told KSR there would be a “new focus” on conditioning and “that’s going to be a huge emphasis for us the way we want to play this year.” When you have one of the deepest teams in the country, you want to use that depth to your advantage by attacking opponents in waves until they roll over and die, quicker bursts at 110 percent effort across the board.

“That’s a little bit of a new vibe for us,” he said.

How did things go with the conditioning test? Well, it’s the hardest thing the players have done up to this point, if you want the truth.

“We’ve been working, getting prepared for the season,” Alabama transfer Mo Dioubate said Monday. “… Coach made us run 17s today in practice. Coming in, I didn’t think it was gonna be that hard, but it was really kind of challenging today. We got it done, but that was probably the hardest thing we’ve done in practice so far.”

For those curious, a 17 is when you run from sideline to sideline 17 times, timed. Pope gives the bigs 66 seconds to get it done and the guards 63 seconds. If you fail, you have to come back a week later and try it again.

No exceptions — as Dioubate learned the hard way.

“We did four of those today, and you get a one-minute break in between each 17,” Dioubate said. “… If you fail the first one, it doesn’t count and you have to come back next week and try to get it. … Last week, I was short by like four seconds, and I thought the coaches would have some mercy on me, saying, ‘Oh, you don’t have to do it again.’ But (Pope) said, ‘Nah, you got to do it until you make it.’ So that’s what I did today.

“I almost died, but it was fun just knowing that I completed it. It was hard, but we still got it done.”

Another reporter came up later in the conversation and asked a similar question about the conditioning test and how it went. Dioubate didn’t miss a beat, repeating the same line from before to really drive that point home: it nearly killed him.

“I told you, I almost died,” he continued. “I was so fatigued, but I still managed to get through it. … I told myself, ‘I can’t keep doing this, I just got to get this out of the way.’ So me and Trent Noah passed it today.”

Hands on his knees, huffing and puffing in victory, he can now watch the rest of his teammates try to beat the clock as Coach Pope pushes toward having a group capable of running forever this season.

“I’m gonna cheer for the other guys like they cheered for me today — because I know how hard it is to pass that,” Dioubate joked.

It’s exactly what he signed up for, wanting to be pushed to the limit and developed as a national champion and future pro. He’s worked his entire life and a conditioning test wasn’t going to break him — no matter how hard Pope tried.

“It’s been good,” he said. “I didn’t expect anything easy, honestly. My whole life, I’ve worked hard for everything I’ve had. So coming in, I didn’t expect anything to be handed to me. I’ve always worked for everything I’ve wanted. It’s been good, I’ve been working.”

Those prayers worked for Dioubate.