Aly Khalifa

Aly Khalifa may have had modest numbers last year at BYU (5.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4 assists, 38.6% FG), but he was one of the best passing big men in college basketball and that was a key to unlocking Mark Pope’s playbook for a Cougars’ program that had a top-15 offense in the country and was 6th overall in assists per field goals made.

At 6-foot-11 and a listed 270 pounds, Khalifa’s conditioning, mobility, and overall efficiency were all constant works-in-progress, but he showed an extreme overlap of size, skill, passing, instinctive feel for the game, and learned basketball IQ. His ability to thread the needle and hit cutters was obvious from the post, elbow, and high post area. He is an extremely clever screener who understood who to best utilize his wide-frame and has good footwork. He’s also a capable floor-spacer and pick-and-pop threat, although his shooting numbers (32% from three and 62% from the free-throw line), were notably below where they were the previous two-years at Charlotte.

When everything is clicking for Khalifa, he looks like a potential NBA prospect. But he was far too inconsistent last year and also a liability at times, particularly on the defensive end of the floor. While his size is a deterrent in the lane, he provides limited true rim protection and is very limited when pulled away from the basket. He also needs to be more effective at finishing defensive possessions on the glass.