Aly Khalifa: Louisville basketball player profile
With a continued look into the 2025-26 Louisville Cardinals basketball roster, the fourth player in our basketball profile series is Aly Khalifa.
Previous player profiles: Sananda Fru, Mouhamed Camara, Kobe Rodgers
Aly Khalifa, alongside Kobe Rodgers, who we previously detailed in our last profile, sat out last season while recovering from an injury, and is ready to make an impact in the 2025-26 season.
While at BYU, the 6-foot-11 big man played through a knee injury that he eventually decided to get surgery on. During the 2024-25 season, he rehabbed his knee injury while using a medical redshirt in the process.
Prior to joining Louisville, Khalifa had previous stints at BYU and Charlotte. During his three seasons before joining the Cardinals, he averaged 8.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 0.3 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game, according to College Basketball Reference.
Offseason Update/Eligibility Case
The big focuses during the 2024-25 season for Aly Khalifa were his rehab and his overall development.
However, he did face a bump in the road with his eligibility. For context, despite only playing 3 years of college basketball, the NCAA brought forth an eligibility case against him, in which they denied him eligibility for the 2025-26 season. However, he was deemed eligible after Louisville appealed the ineligible ruling.
During July, the 6-foot-11 center spoke with local media.
On the Eligibility Case:
“It was very stressful. It was too much for me. I knew back in April that I wasn’t eligible. I was very relieved that I obviously got eligible back a month ago, but I was very confident that I would be eligible.
Rehab Process:
“I definitely feel a lot faster than when I played at BYU. I lost 50-55 pounds and got a lot stronger. Like I said, cardio on the court, just being able to play for longer minutes without getting tired. I realized this when I first started practicing back in February with the team and this summer. Obviously, just being able to scrimmage and not get as tired and play faster in short distances and be able to get stronger, as well.”
On-Court Development:
“I feel like my conditioning, that’s the biggest thing since the last time I played when I was at BYU. I feel like we play at a very fast pace here compared to my old school, so that’s what I have been working towards. My cardio and conditioning to be able to play longer minutes without getting as tired, especially in Coach Kelsey’s offense and defense. I feel like defensively as well to jump ball screens or drop ball screens and hit dudes down low and try and block them out and be stronger. I feel like this is the biggest thing I’m excited for. I feel like that’s what I’ve been working on this whole time. I feel like I can shoot it a lot better too since the last time I played two years ago. I know myself and work hard.”
Pat Kelsey’s thoughts on the Aly Khalifa Signing
After the signing of Aly Khalifa in May 2024, Pat Kelsey said the following: “Aly is one of the best passing big men in all of basketball. His assist to turnover ratio is astonishingly positive. He plays the game with a level of intelligence and creativity that is rare to see. He’s a high IQ player that has been well coached throughout his basketball career. Aly’s unselfishness and passion for helping others extends off the court as well. He has a fantastic heart and a great way about him.”
Aly Khalifa Offensive Scouting Report
The most impactful element of the Egyptian’s offensive game is his passing ability. He thrives as a hub from the mid-post, where he can set up from the elbow and dissect defenses with his vision. He finds cutters quickly and doesn’t waste time with his reads, as he anticipates where his teammates will be. He’s also a threat against zone defenses, where he can set up shop in the middle of zone defenses and find open shooters from that area of the floor. He’s also a caretaker of the basketball, boasting a 2.3 assist-to-turnover ratio over his college career thus far.
Additionally, Khalifa loves the pick-and-pop game. He has solid touch from deep and can pull opposing bigs out with his shooting gravity. This allows his shooting + passing abilities to complement each other, as he can draw rim-protecting bigs out and find cutters in the process.
Furthermore, Khalifa is best utilized in slower-paced matchups, especially due to his previous experience in BYU’s system. This system was predicated on half-court offense and a slower tempo. When the game slows down, which it will during certain matchups throughout the year, Khalifa can take pressure off the guards with his playmaking ability. He allows creators to get off the ball and conserve energy.
He is also a decent low-post scorer with touch around the rim. He’ll identify guard switches and use his size to seal + score around the rim. However, he primarily wants to be a stretch big, but can tap into this part of his game on occasion. For context, only 21 of his 153 shot attempts came on designed post-ups during his 2023-24 season at BYU, according to Synergy Sports.
Aly Khalifa Defensive Scouting Report
Defensively, Khalifa must show improvement, as he can struggle on this end of the floor on occasion. His lack of mobility can cause him issues when defending in space, especially when switched onto guards. He’ll be tested in this capacity, especially considering the difficult schedule Louisville will play this season.
He also doesn’t offer much pop as a rim-protector due to his late recovery speed and explosiveness as an athlete. However, with Khalifa’s massive strides in weight loss, there is more upside to tap into defensively. If he can be somewhat serviceable, that will be a win for the Cards.
How does he fit in Louisville’s System?
Khalifa should fit in nicely with his combination of shooting + playmaking. He is also an intriguing complement to Sananda Fru, who brings more from an athleticism/defensive standpoint, while Khalifa can add value with his polished playmaking skillset. Louisville will have the ability to defer to either big depending on the matchup.
Despite lacking the athletic traits that Kelsey looks for in his up-tempo system, his IQ, secondary playmaking, and shooting will be greatly valued on this team.
Bottom Line: Overall, the Egyptian big is a unique front-court piece that Louisville will have in its toolbox. He will give the Cards lineup flexibility and present an unusual wrench into defensive schemes for opponents with his high-level passing ability. As his conditioning continues to improve, expect him to be more impactful.
