In the hours following Friday’s appointment of Mark Pope as Kentucky men’s basketball head coach, BYU saw two key players, center Aly Khalifa and guard Dallin Hall, enter the transfer portal. NCAA.
Two days later, one of these players would have retained the possibility of returning to the Cougars.
Khalifa has narrowed his choices to Kentucky, Louisville and a return to BYU, according to On3’s Joe Tipton Sunday.
Khalifa entered the transfer portal with a “Do Not Contact” tag, Tipton reported, meaning schools cannot contact players unless they initiate communication.
The 6-foot-11 Khalifa joined the Cougars program last season after playing two seasons in Charlotte. He has one year of eligibility remaining.
Khalifa has played in 29 games and started 26 for BYU during the 2023-24 season. The “Egyptian Wizard,” known for his distribution skills, averaged 5.7 points, 4.0 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game for the Cougars.
He ranked seventh nationally with a 3.59 assist-to-turnover ratio, although he saw his shooting averages drop to 38.6 percent from the field and 31.5 percent from 3-point range.
Khalifa’s interest in Kentucky is reportedly staying with Pope, the former Kentucky center who coached the Cougars the past five seasons and who recruited Khalifa to BYU. At Kentucky, Pope succeeds John Calipari, who left to coach Arkansas.
Louisville also has a new head coach, with Pat Kelsey replacing Kenny Payne. Khalifa is scheduled to be in Louisville on Thursday, College basketball insider Jeff Goodman reportedgiving an indication of when a decision might come from Khalifa.
BYU has not yet announced Pope’s successor.
