New UK coach Mark Pope walking into his first Kentucky-Louisville recruiting battle
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Kentucky introduces new basketball coach Mark Pope
Click below to read more coverage from the Lexington Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com about the introduction of former UK player Mark Pope as the new Kentucky men’s basketball coach.
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One of the most talented players on BYU’s team last season has opened the possibility of following his coach to Lexington.
Former Charlotte and BYU center Aly Khalifa told On3.com on Sunday that his three options in the transfer portal include a move to Kentucky, a commitment to Louisville or a return to Brigham Young.
New UK head coach Mark Pope coached Khalifa for one season with the Cougars. Previously, Khalifa played the 2021-22 and the 2022-23 seasons at Charlotte.
A 6-foot-11, 270-pound center, Khalifa is from Egypt and entered the transfer portal Friday, the same day Pope was officially announced as the next Kentucky coach.
Khalifa entered the portal with a “do not contact” tag, which often signals that a player intends to follow his coach to a new school.
Known for his deft passing ability, Khalifa has acquired plenty of accolades already in his college career.
Aly Khalifa’s history at Charlotte and BYU
Khalifa — who spent time at the NBA Global Academy in Australia and took part in several international basketball events as a recruit — redshirted the 2020-21 season at Charlotte.
He arrived in the 49ers program as a three-star recruit and the No. 60 overall center in the 2020 recruiting class, per 247Sports.
In his first college season during the 2021-22 campaign, he made an immediate impact: Khalifa had per-game averages of 7.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists.
He was the Conference USA Freshman of the Year and a member of that league’s All-Freshman team.
Also impressive? As a first-year college player Khalifa had a 2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
He also displayed signs that he could be a stretch big at the college level by shooting 35.1% from 3-point range, but only on 57 attempts for the season.
Charlotte went 17-14 overall that season and lost its first game in the C-USA Tournament.
As a redshirt sophomore in the 2022-23 season, Khalifa boosted some of his stats.
He averaged 11.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. Khalifa was Charlotte’s leading rebounder, second-leading scorer and second-leading assist man that season.
Khalifa, who was an All-C-USA honorable mention player in the 2022-23 season, also showed up when it mattered most for the 49ers in the postseason.
He was an integral part in Charlotte winning the College Basketball Invitational: Across Charlotte’s four games in the event, Khalifa averaged 10.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per contest.
In the championship game against Eastern Kentucky, Khalifa scored 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the field to lead all scorers. he also had four rebounds and four assists in that title game victory.
Khalifa took a big step in his 3-point shooting during the 2022-23 season as well: He connected on 38.1% shots from deep on 126 total 3-point attempts.
He did this while playing for a Charlotte team that ranked second-to-last in the nation in adjusted tempo.
In April 2023, Khalifa announced that he was transferring from Charlotte to BYU.
Under Pope’s tutelage and in his distinct offensive system Khalifa thrived.
Across 29 games played (26 starts) Khalifa averaged 5.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per game, but he unlocked his passing ability to an exceptional level.
Khalifa averaged a career-best 4 assists per game, which ranked 141st in the nation. He ranked first in the Big 12 Conference and seventh in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.59-1).
Per Kenpom, Khalifa’s 32.8 assist rate — calculated as a player’s assists divided by the field goals made by a player’s teammates while he is on the court — ranked 34th nationally.
He totaled 115 assists against 32 turnovers for the season.
Khalifa did regress from 3-point range in Provo, though: He shot a career-worst 31.5% from the field on 92 total attempts from 3.
He played 19.4 minutes per game in his distinct role for the Cougars last season.
According to college basketball statistician Evan Miyakawa, Khalifa ranked as the No. 11 overall transfer this offseason, as of Sunday afternoon.
Last year, former Kentucky coach John Calipari brought in frontcourt player Tre Mitchell via the portal. Mitchell, who is now out of college eligibility, ranked as the No. 16 overall transfer, per Miyakawa.
Pope has essentially a blank canvas to work with as he constructs his first Kentucky roster.
Aaron Bradshaw (Ohio State) and Zvonimir Ivisic (Arkansas) have both transferred to new schools. Joey Hart, Adou Thiero and D.J. Wagner are other Wildcats from the 2023-24 team that have entered the transfer portal.
Also from last season’s squad, Rob Dillingham, Justin Edwards and Ugonna Onyenso have declared for the 2024 NBA draft. Tre Mitchell and Antonio Reeves have exhausted their college eligibility.
Four of the six players that Calipari had lined up as part of Kentucky’s 2024 recruiting class have decommitted from the UK program, including all three of Kentucky’s McDonald’s All-American recruits.
In-state guard Travis Perry, the all-time leading scorer in Kentucky high school boys basketball history, is the only one of those six recruits expected to remain committed to UK.
Former BYU signee Collin Chandler, a combo guard, announced Tuesday that he would be following Pope to Lexington. Chandler was a four-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting class before taking a two-year mission trip. He will be making his college basketball debut in the 2024-25 season.
This story was originally published April 14, 2024 at 1:20 PM.
