What Aly Khalifa Brings to Louisville

Here's what the transfer from BYU brings to the table for the Cardinals.

BYU's center Aly Khalifa (50) rebounds the ball / Annie Rice/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville men's basketball program now has a starting five's worth of transfer newcomers for new head coach Pat Kelsey.

On Thursday, the Cardinals landed former BYU center Aly Khalifa, pulling him away from possibly joining his former head coach, Mark Pope, at Kentucky. However, don't expect to see Khalifa on the floor next season, as the plan is for him to redshirt so that he can rehab a knee injury that he played through last season.

Playing his first season at the power conference level after spending his first two years at Charlotte, the 6-foot-11, 255-pound center saw his production dip some, but still proved to be one of the best passing big men in the nation. In 29 games and 26 starts, Khalifa averaged 4.0 assists to just 1.1 turnovers per game, with his 3.59 assist-to-turnover ratio ranking seventh in D1. He also put up 5.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per game, and shot 38.6 percent from the field plus 31.5 percent on threes.

His best season came as a sophomore at Charlotte in 2022-23, when he averaged 11.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 34 starts. As a true freshman with the 49ers, Khalifa was named the Conference USA Rookie of the Year after putting up 7.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 32 appearances and 30 starts.

But beyond his stat lines, what else does Khalifa bring to the table for the Cardinals?

First of all, let's talk about the No. 1 skill that he possess: his abilities as a passer. It's not hyperbole to say that Khalifa is the best passing big man in all of college basketball right now. There's a reason he's nicknamed the "Egyptian Magician."

Whether he's posted up on the block, at the elbow or closer to the perimeter, Khalifa possesses the kind of court vision that most point guards don't even have. He's especially efficient at lasering bounce passes to teammates cutting to the paint.

Here's some added context regarding his passing prowess: his assist rate of 32.6 percent was not only fourth in the Big 12, but 13th in the power six. Additionally, of the top-30 players in terms of assists per 100 possessions, Khalifa was the only one on the list that was over 6-foot-5.

On top of being an elite-level passer, Khalifa is a fantastic decision maker, as evidenced by his top-10 assist-to-turnover ratio. Very rarely does he make the wrong decision on a read, or put the ball in a dangerous spot. Long story short, Khalifa is an incredibly cerebral basketball player.

What about the other aspects of his game? At first glance, it can be understandable to have some reservations given he didn't score a ton and didn't shoot it well this past season. However, that can probably be partially attributed to the fact that he was playing on an injured knee for almost the entire season, and also dealt with an ankle injury down the stretch.

When things are clicking for Khalifa, he's a legitimate threat both beyond the arc and in the post, although the bulk of his field goal attempts this past season were three-pointers (likely due to his injury). A good chunk of said threes are spot-up attempts, but he also does a great job in pick-and-pop situations because of how good of a screener he is. He's also got a very quick release for someone who is almost seven feet tall.

While physicality and athleticism isn't Khalifa's strong suit, he actually has a good set of post moves thanks in part to his incredibly high basketball IQ. When fully healthy, he has a quick pivot foot that helps him spin very quickly out of a post to face up, and does a solid job of cutting to the basket. Even last season, he made 63.6 percent of his shots at the rim.

Something that absolutely needs improvement is Khalifa's athleticism and overall conditioning. To be fair to him, he was playing through injury, but at times he was a bona fide liability on defense. He did post a 3.3 percent block rate, but he was still very inconsistent as a rim protector. Despite playing in nearly every game, Khalifa played in just 41.2 percent of BYU's total minutes.

Overall, while this might not be a pickup that moves the needle for Cardinals fans, this is a perfect system addition for Louisville. He fits Pat Kelsey's five-out, three-heavy offense perfect. Hopefully he is able to properly get his conditioning up during his rehab process, and be one of the secret keys to UofL's offense in 2025-26.

(Photo of Aly Khalifa: Annie Rice - Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY)

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