Otega Oweh excited to play with Mo Dioubate after going against him last season

This offseason, Mark Pope didn't just load up on talent from the transfer portal in general, but he did so getting a few players from some of the SEC's best teams from last season. Incoming forward Mo Dioubate is one of them, who was a force for Alabama last season, tearing up Kentucky each of the three times the two squads faced off.

Pope even talked this offseason about Dioubate, saying, "I don't like to say it, but man, he punished us three straight games last season. It was not a happy time for us. When talking with media on Tuesday, returning Kentucky star guard Otega Oweh had a similar sentiment, saying that he just didn't like playing against the 6-7 forward. Now, he's excited to have him on his side this time around.

"It's gonna be lovely. I know what he brings and I didn't like playing against him, if I'm being honest. I know he's gonna have that same effect on other people on other teams. It's gonna be great. ...He plays defense like me, but he's a four/five, he's big and can move his feet. It don't matter who he's guarding. He could guard a 5-8 guard, a 6-10 big, it don't matter. He's gonna go out there and just be a dog." Oweh on Mo Dioubate.

Last season, Dioubate held Oweh to just 2 points on 1-9 shooting in their matchup in Tuscaloosa. Nate Oats and Alabama seemed to notice something, because Oweh scored just 8 points on 1-6 shooting in their SEC Tournament matchup. Dioubate actually helped end Oweh's double-digit streak, with Auburn being the only other team able to hold the star guard to single digits all of last season. In the third matchup between the two schools, Dioubate put up 13 points on 5-6 shooting, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks and a steal.

Oweh is excited to have a force like Dioubate on his side, especially after how the 6-7 forward played against Kentucky last season. His defense and rebounding is going to be a key part of Kentucky's success.