Aly Khalifa could have gone to plenty of places after he put his name into the transfer portal.
One of the first schools that he expressed an interest in was the University of Louisville. The 6-foot-11, 270-pound former BYU center said he was not only intrigued by new head coach Pat Kelsey and by an elite program like U of L but also because he has several connections to the Cardinals.
Khalifa’s former prep teammate is Reyne Smith, who became the first transfer to U of L for Kelsey. The two played together at the Australia Centre of Excellence where Smith played for Australia’s Centre of Excellence and Khalifa played for the NBA Global Academy. The two worked alongside each other.
The other connection is Khalifa is close to and has played on the same team as former U of L center Anas Mahmoud, who is also a native of Egpyt.
“Reyne was my high school teammate, so I was calling him and texting him every day,” Khalifa told Cardinal Authority. “And with Anas Mahmoud as well. He was the first person I texted after I reached out to Louisville. I said your old school, I hit them up and he just told me all the great things about Louisville.
“And with Reyne, he played for coach Kelsey for three years, so he knows everything about him I felt really good.”
Khalifa said once he got to know Kelsey and the staff a little better and then when he arrived on campus, he knew it was a great fit.
He made his commitment public on Thursday, the same day he arrived for a visit.
“Obviously, just coach Kelsey’s – and coach (Brian) Kloman’s – passion for the game and their passion for getting Lousiville back again is what I loved,” Khalifa said. “Louisville is a big, big, big-time university. The coaches are great and they promised to take care of me with my knee issues and such, so that played a big part in it.
“I feel like this is a place that will be good for me and help me get back as soon as I can. I am excited.”
Khalifa did confirm that he will sit out the 2024-25 season as a redshirt to rehab his injured knee. He was injured late in the season at BYU.
But he said that won’t keep him from being part of the team. Khalifa said he’s already reached out to fellow post player James Scott, who is transferring to U of L from Charleston, and told him that he will be his mentor for the season.
“I told him we’re going to get to work,” Khalifa said. “I told the coaches, any big man tell them I am redshirting and I will be here to help. I want to be a coach someday and this is a good start, so I can do my rehab, get in the best shape I can be, and be ready.”
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