JUST IN: Louisville basketball head coach Pat Kelsey has landed another strong commitment.

However, there’s a slight twist to this one.

Transfer to BYU Aly Khalifa chose the Cardinals between going back to BYU or playing at Kentucky for his old coach Mark Pope. In order to fully recover from his injured knee, Kahlifa will go to Louisville and miss the upcoming season.

In 19.4 minutes over 29 games this season for the Cougars as a junior, the 6-foot-11, 270-pound Khalifa averaged 5.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 4.0 assists while shooting 31.5% from 3-point range. In a victory against No. 11 Baylor, he recorded 14 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. In a defeat against No. 25 Texas Tech, he finished with 21 points and 7 rebounds.

Throughout 94 games with the 49ers and Cougars, Khalifa, who started his NCAA career at Charlotte, has averaged 8.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.4 assists.

Khalifa is an Egyptian native who graduated in 2020 from the NBA Global Academy in Australia.

Adam Finkelstein, director of scouting at 247Sports, assessed Kahlifa earlier this week:

Despite his modest stats (5.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4 assists, 38.6% FG) in his final season at BYU, Aly Khalifa was one of the best passing big men in college basketball, which was essential to figuring out Mark Pope’s playbook for the Cougars, who ranked sixth in the nation in terms of assists per field goal made.

Khalifa, who stands 6-foot-11 and weighs 270 pounds, is constantly improving his conditioning, mobility, and general efficiency. However, he demonstrated a remarkable combination of size, skill, passing, natural feel for the game, and acquired basketball IQ. It was clear from the post, elbow, and high post area that he could thread the needle and hit cutters. He is a very astute screenwriter.

who had outstanding footwork and knew how to use his broad frame to its fullest. Although his shooting percentages (32% from three and 62% from the free-throw line) were noticeably worse than they were during his previous two years at Charlotte, he is still a formidable floor spacer and pick-and-pop threat.

When Khalifa is playing well, he appears to be a possible NBA prospect. However, he was far too erratic and occasionally a liability in his first season, especially when it came to the defensive end of the court. His stature serves as a deterrent in the lane, but when he is taken away from the basket, he is relatively limited and offers little real rim protection. Additionally, he needs to finish defensive possessions on the glass more skillfully.”

Less than a month has passed on the

work, Kelsey currently has five roster commitments for the Cardinals. Guard Reyne Smith and forward James Scott from Charleston were the two players who committed; the other two players were Terrence Edwards of James Madison and J’Vonne Hadley of Colorado.