BYU's Aly Khalifa cuts list to three, includes Kentucky

NCAA Basketball: Brigham Young at Iowa State — Mar 6, 2024; Ames, Iowa, USA; Brigham Young Cougars center Aly Khalifa (50) shoots over Iowa State Cyclones forward Hason Ward (24) at James H. Hilton Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports

Things are moving quickly for Mark Pope at Kentucky as he looks to build out his debut roster in Lexington. We already know Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year Jaxson Robinson is a name to know for the Wildcats, BYU’s best player interested in following his former head coach to Lexington. Three-time CAA Defensive Player of the Year and Drexel star Amari Williams has also scheduled an official visit to Kentucky from April 21-22.

Now, one of Pope’s most valued assets with the Cougars has included the Wildcats in his final three out of the transfer portal.

Aly Khalifa, a 6-11, 270-pound center out of Alexandria, Egypt, is down to Kentucky, Louisville and BYU, according to On3’s Joe Tipton.

Khalifa stole the hearts of college basketball diehards this past season as one of the most electric players in the nation. His numbers don’t jump off the page at 5.7 points, 4.0 assists and 3.7 rebounds in 19.4 minutes per game on 38.6/31.5/62.1 shooting splits, but he’s widely considered among the best facilitators in the sport at his position.

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Love Indiana State’s Robbie Avila — better known as Cream Abdul-Jabbar or Larry Blurred? You’ll love Khalifa, who fills a very specific role for Pope as a playmaker, a brilliant passer with tremendous feel and court vision.

He entered the portal this week with a ‘do not contact’ classification, meaning he doesn’t wish to hear from other programs and knows what he is looking for. His immediate list cut drives that point home even further. We watched it unfold with Kenny Brooks and the women’s basketball program as former Virginia Tech players flocked to join their coach in Lexington. Expect to see more of that with Pope, Khalifa being the first player with a clear eye on the Cats.

His assist-to-turnover ratio ranked among the best in college basketball this past season at 4-1.1 and he grades out on a different planet analytically in terms of usage and per-40 numbers. He doesn’t move extremely well and he’s a bit unconventional, but man, he’s got some stuff to him that fans will like.

Will he be Mark Pope’s first commitment at Kentucky?