LOUISVILLE, Ky. – While the 2024-25 men’s college basketball season is months away, we officially have our first Louisville vs. Kentucky battle in the Pat Kelsey era – this time out on the recruiting trail.
BYU transfer center Aly Khalifa announced his top three transfer destinations on Sunday, and the Cardinals are in the running for his commitment.
The other options are either follow his former head coach in Mark Pope to the Wildcats, or return to Provo to play another season with the Cougars.
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.
While Khalifa is an Egyptian native born in Alexandria, he played his prep ball at the NBA Global Academy in Canberra, Australia.
During this time is when now-Louisville assistant coach Michael Cassidy worked at the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence, which worked alongside the NBA Global Academy.
