LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville freshman guard Mikel Brown has played some elite level basketball. But when asked for a comparison to the passing of Cardinals' big man Aly Khalifa, he had to go pretty high.
Brown has seen it up close — the no-look skips, the bounce passes from the high post, the half-spin pivots that lead to open threes before defenders can blink.
"He's the closest thing to Jokić when it comes to passing," Brown said. "I haven't seen it before. Besides Jokić."
That's Nikola Jokić. Two-time MVP. Basketball savant. Denver Nugget. And now, apparently, spiritual cousin to the 6-foot-11-inch center that Louisville players call the Egyptian Magician.
Louisville | Kentucky | Indiana | Eric Crawford
If that sounds like a stretch, you haven't seen Khalifa pass or you didn't see the team erupt when their teammate — coming off an injury season, burdened by NCAA red tape — was finally cleared to play.
That was last month. A video worth 1,000 claps.
Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey entered the room looking like he was about to deliver a eulogy.
"We've had to rally around Aly," he said. Then the pivot.
"We just found out an hour ago ... Aly Khalifa is eligible."
Boom. A meeting turned pep rally. The locker room blew up like the Yum! Center after a game-winner. Khalifa just stood there, smiling, relieved, reborn. (The rest of the story: A bunch of athletic administrators had come to witness the moment and were out in the hall. In the excitement, Kelsey forgot. Athletic director Josh Heird came in afterward, deadpan. "Yeah man, thanks. Appreciate it. Heard it was cool.")
"That was a really, really cool moment," Kelsey said. "... He just has a wonderful heart, and I don't think people give him the credit that's due to him for the job he did with last year's team. You know, even though he wasn't on the floor, man, he was a coach. He was an extension of me. He was like the bigs whisperer."
Louisville center Aly Khalifa speaks with reporters on July 16, 2025.
He transformed his body — 55 pounds gone. And his role — from transfer question mark to locker-room captain without logging a minute.
Now, Louisville gets to see what it missed.
"He's one of the most skilled big guys in the country," Kelsey said. "I think he's one of the top five passing bigs in the world and gives us a very, very dangerous weapon."
Not just big. Not just reshaped. But different. Built for a system that wants pace, passing, and playmaking from every spot — even the five spot. Especially the five spot. Kelsey calls it the "hub."
"I definitely feel a lot faster than I played at BYU," Khalifa said. "Got stronger. Better cardio. ... I'm not the most athletic anyway, but I can jump a little higher. That always helps. … And I feel like defensively as well, I'm able 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 and feel like this is what I've been working on this whole time. And I feel like I can shoot it a lot better, too, since the last time I played two years ago."
But the thing that has always differentiated his game is his vision. He sees the game like a coach — because he wants to be one. Sat beside Kelsey in walkthroughs. Studied the offense. Learned every read. Every wrinkle. Every cue.
Now, he brings that IQ to the floor. And with it, a kind of gravitational pull.
"I know what coach wants," Khalifa said. "Now I can just click it. And help the other guys get there."
Louisville hasn't had a big like this in a while. They haven't needed one like this — until now. On a roster built to run, Khalifa gives them a post who can slow the game down by seeing three steps ahead.
He's not Jokic. Let's just call him Louisville's version.
And after a year in waiting, the big man is back — with vision, with voice, and a highly anticipated second act.
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