Should Mouhamed Dioubate Be in Alabama's Starting Lineup? Just a Minute

Dioubate came up big for the Crimson Tide in the road win at Mississippi State.

Katie Windham | Jan 30, 2025

Alabama forward Mouhamed Dioubate (10) takes a shot during pregame against Mississippi State University at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, Mississippi on Wednesday, January 29, 2025. / Alabama Athletics

Welcome to BamaCentral’s "Just a Minute," a video series featuring BamaCentral's Alabama beat writers. Multiple times a week, the writers will group up or film solo to provide their take on a topic concerning the Crimson Tide or the landscape of college sports.

Watch the above video as BamaCentral's Katie WIndham discusses whether or not Mouhamed Dioubate should replace Jarin Stevenson in the starting lineup for Alabama basketball.

The old adage goes, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." And the same could be said for this year's Alabama basketball team. Nate Oats has the Crimson Tide ranked No. 4 in the country coming off another top-15 road win in SEC play on Wednesday night against Mississippi State.

Sophomore forward Mouhamed Dioubate had a huge offensive rebound in the final seconds and finished with four points and nine rebounds in 18 minutes, winning his seventh hard hat award of the season.

Fellow sophomore forward Jarin Stevenson has started 17 of 21 games for Alabama this season, but is averaging the least amount of points per game on the team of the players who get significant playing time. He had no points and just one rebound on Wednesday against Mississippi State.

He's only won the hard hat two times this season and is averaging 4.7 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. Dioubate is averaging higher in both categories (six points and 5.4 rebounds) while playing less minutes. There's a reason Oats is paid millions to be the head coach, and he and the rest of the coaching staff know what clicks best for their team and who does well coming off the bench, but it might be time for Dioubate to make his debut in the starting lineup.

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KATIE WINDHAM

Katie Windham is the assistant editor for BamaCentral, primarily covering football, basketball gymnastics and softball. She is a two-time graduate of the University of Alabama and has covered a variety of Crimson Tide athletics since 2019 for outlets like The Tuscaloosa News, The Crimson White and the Associated Press before joining BamaCentral full time in 2021. Windham has covered College Football Playoff games, the Women's College World Series, NCAA March Madness, SEC Tournaments and championships in multiple sports.