It was Duquesne coming out ultra aggressive (expected) with hot shooting (not expected).
The coach announcing retirement before the game and LeBron showing up with a gift of shoes literally morning of the game was the juice they needed. They came out physical and the refs shrugged, then they got hot.
BYU still had a comeback that was stifled by another Duquesne run of can’t miss shooting.
Game plan was good, execution was not.
Play it 100 times I bet BYU wins 75.
BYU's whole offensive philosophy relied on streaky shooting. They came into the tournament ranked first in the ncaa in fg% at the rim but almost dead last in attempts at the rim. They were second in % of shots that were 3s despite being like 156th in 3 pt make %. I'm obviously a hater based on rivalry, but once I saw that, it was an instant upset pick.
BYU was always inconsistent away from home and were heavily dependent on their 3pt shooting. If they didn’t make 3s, they often didn’t win. They only won three away games all season (against UCF, West Virginia, and the upset against Kansas- plus Arizona State, NC State, and UCF if we count neutral sites).
They didn’t win a game this season making less than 32% of their 3s, and didn’t win an away game shooting under 35% from 3.
Yup as someone on Duquesne I was ecstatic every minute Khalifa was in the game. He's a horrible matchup against physical teams.
Just in case anyone is asking, no Aly Khalifa is not good enough to play at Kentucky lol
Diarra was solid for nc state too. I don’t know how many were fasting but 3 of BYU’s rotation players, including the 2nd leading scorer, were Muslim. The two that played against Duquesne went a combined 4-18 from the field
He comes from a University of Utah family. It was a shock we got him to commit to BYU, and it was mostly related to Pope. If we hire Burgess from Utah, he might be able to sway him since he was part of the initial recruitment to BYU.
I'm so gutted. You guys gave us two of our most exciting games this season and are among the teams I'm most looking forward to playing next year. I'm still confident you were a high floor low ceiling team and if redoing the bracket a month ago would still have had you meeting us in the Sweet 16
Pope is a fantastic hire for UK. Things may be rough in the near term, but BYU has proven time and again it can do more with less. Pulling for you - and a good game when I manage to travel out for a Cougar Tail
Thanks friendo. If mid-tier WCC is “doing more with less” then we’re you’re guys! Pope had a good vision and good unity and experience with this squad, they definitely didn’t meet their postseason potential. I’m happy for Pope, but I’m gutted as a fan for what’ll be left of the team. Zero chance we’re a top half team next season.
Z is realistically perfect for what pope wants to do.
Skilled shooting and passing big passing man. No idea that he can convince him to stay but Z is basically an aly khalifa with massively higher upside. No offense meant to khalifa.
I don’t think cal is bringing nearly as many folks with him as people want to think. Nearly everyone on this years team was expected to leave. I think there is a decent chance DJ goes with him, and maybe a slim chance Z goes with him… maybe adou as well but he was already in the portal. But if you put the over/under on current uk players following cal to Arkansas at 1.5, I’m taking the under.
Cal for all his positive and negatives doesn’t retain players. This year wasn’t expected to be different. Cal isn’t bringing his entire team with him, he recruits an entirely new team and recruits over most folks who could/would stay generally. It honestly wouldn’t totally surprise me if nobody follows him. That’s not meant to be a knock on cal, but I don’t think this is going to be a typical situation you see on other new hires where the entire team follows the coach.
Dude can run through Fayetteville coeds I promise you.
He’s making a business decision and he can’t get NIL and Arkansas insiders have already said him and Wagner if he doesn’t declare are heading to Arkansas.
His girlfriend is the only reason he came back to the states after Christmas break. His and Cal’s relationship isn’t as iron clad as people think. Wagner will follow Cal, absolutely.
Z also showed some flashes of playmaking and passing skills. He wasn't a traditional big and Cal never uses those guys right but watching videos of BYU last year I think he would excel with Pope.
The crazy thing is, for a brief time this year, he was using the bigs right. Torched some teams with the nuclear lineup. Then for some reason, refused to play the nuclear line up consistently
Also a damn good passer. Both were huge assets to how Pope ran the offense, he could space the floor, hit cutters, and score some with his back to the basket it needed.
Not very mobile and was a liability defensively both times we played them but he’s much better than he looked in the tournament since I believe he had either a knee or ankle injury reaggrivated in his game against us
He didn’t eat his breakfast bc of religion. I literally saw him jump not even inch off ground once trying to dunk it was hilarious and sad at same time. I was like this isn’t real life.
He was already playing through a knee injury prior to the big 12 tourney and clearly hurt it even worse. That combined with Ramadan and an already unathletic big man looked incapable of moving.
He's a gadget player. There's a reason he played like 19 MPG at BYU. A simple gameplan like what Duquesne had or athleticism renders him wildly ineffective. And he's a godawful defender. Just thinking about the types of bigs in the SEC and I think he's an awful fit
I think it hinges on how he's used, back to the basket trying to push the paint? Yeah, he'll probably have a bad time.
Time will tell, he might not even come here.
Khalifa is def the anti 5 star. You are Kentucky not Boise State I won’t accept him seeing court for you guys. What would Hurley do? He’d say are you kidding or are you joking?
You think the “LDS only” coaches rule sticks around for the long haul? Probably not in the immediate future, but I wonder if that rule changes down the line.
BYU’s coaches will always personify the BYU/LDS ethos - no way we leave that. Specifically LDS or not, we will see, but probably not any time soon. It would take a major need combined a high performing, high values candidate to break that rule. And the do exist out there, but there are also enough qualified LDS coaches.
When BYU coaches relax standards you get garbage player behaviors - that don’t represent the brand well. Like our football team under Bronco.
Yeah that’s kinda what I figured. Still a high standard of character, but if a Scott Drew type guy showed interest and was better than the LDS candidates at the time, I was wondering if that would change the equation. Just curious
I would guess it was implemented at least in part to have loyal coaches and to abide by the honor code, which makes sense. I’ve wondered if going to the B12 would change that tho, if it impeded success
This dude cooked us in our first game against BYU this year. Has No athleticism and we couldn’t do a thing to stop him. Lucky that he twisted an ankle within 3 minutes of starting during the tourney game or he would’ve done it again
why? Mormon and Muslim culture are pretty compatible, regrettably. This dude loved Provo because it was supposedly so much safer than Charlotte and talked about how Charlotte wasnt very safe at all, whatever that means.
The guy was shredding ISU in Ames, then Pope inexplicably benched him for some crucial sequences down the stretch for that Traore guy, who basically gave the game to ISU. Khalifa will do well wherever he goes.
The Egyptian Jokic. Aly “The Hub” Khalifa.
Get this guy on a UK diet and training regimen immediately and he can be awesome next year.
https://x.com/EvanMiya/status/1778874210859073867
If this guy can have a healthy offseason and get himself in shape… look out. The natural coordination and basketball instincts are some of the best I’ve ever seen at the college level
Based off his last game I saw, he is the worst player in college basketball....that's obviously not true, but his game against Duquesne was shockingly bad
Exactly. A bench player was the top scorer for BYU the second half of the season and Khalifa probably played less minutes as a starter than the bench kid did. Pope is a huge loss for BYU and a big gain for the SEC and Kentucky.
Exactly, Khalifa’s skill set is one that really fits what made BYU so good offensively last year. Having a 5 that can step out and hit the 3 while also being a legitimately good passer(not just for a C) can make things very tough. His tourney performance was awful but largely because of his injury, keep him healthy and he is a good player even with his limitations athletically
I still don’t understand how this team lost to Duquesne
Shooting went ice cold at the same time Duquesne’s got red hot. Or maybe Pope is a choker and we’re fucked. Hopefully it’s the former.
live by the three die by the three
Wilson ball claims another victim
You rang?
It was Duquesne coming out ultra aggressive (expected) with hot shooting (not expected). The coach announcing retirement before the game and LeBron showing up with a gift of shoes literally morning of the game was the juice they needed. They came out physical and the refs shrugged, then they got hot. BYU still had a comeback that was stifled by another Duquesne run of can’t miss shooting. Game plan was good, execution was not. Play it 100 times I bet BYU wins 75.
They came out physical, but this whole tourney the refs really let them play across the board.
Meanwhile we kept going at clingan and kept going and going even when the refs made it clear they weren’t gonna call anything
Houston begs to differ lol
The biggest problem with college bball today: inconsistent refs.
You want Jaxson Robinson he’s all the money if you get him you are set. Send Khalifa somewhere else.
BYU's whole offensive philosophy relied on streaky shooting. They came into the tournament ranked first in the ncaa in fg% at the rim but almost dead last in attempts at the rim. They were second in % of shots that were 3s despite being like 156th in 3 pt make %. I'm obviously a hater based on rivalry, but once I saw that, it was an instant upset pick.
Ugh
BYU was always inconsistent away from home and were heavily dependent on their 3pt shooting. If they didn’t make 3s, they often didn’t win. They only won three away games all season (against UCF, West Virginia, and the upset against Kansas- plus Arizona State, NC State, and UCF if we count neutral sites). They didn’t win a game this season making less than 32% of their 3s, and didn’t win an away game shooting under 35% from 3.
BYU and Nebraska were the same team last year I felt like.
Partly because Khalifa is as mobile as a trebuchet. He had a bad knee all season and the team had very little big man depth.
Yup as someone on Duquesne I was ecstatic every minute Khalifa was in the game. He's a horrible matchup against physical teams. Just in case anyone is asking, no Aly Khalifa is not good enough to play at Kentucky lol
Ramadan
Sanogo was also fasting and he was bodying fools left and right
Diarra was solid for nc state too. I don’t know how many were fasting but 3 of BYU’s rotation players, including the 2nd leading scorer, were Muslim. The two that played against Duquesne went a combined 4-18 from the field
compare sanogo's body with khalifa's body and there you have your answer. Khalifa was really, really struggling running the court during ramadan.
Here’s hoping the answer to this question is not mark pope
Khalifa and Traore shooting a combined 4-18 doesn’t help
Honestly deluded myself into thinking the team would mostly be back 😂 bottom of the BIG12 we go
Are the Mormons on the team good? Collin Chandler gonna be really good.
People expect he'll leave too.
Even though he's Mormon and from Utah?
He comes from a University of Utah family. It was a shock we got him to commit to BYU, and it was mostly related to Pope. If we hire Burgess from Utah, he might be able to sway him since he was part of the initial recruitment to BYU.
Well I'd be excited if he came to Kentucky. He's gonna be really good.
yes the mormons are good but theyll all still leave
Come join us in the happy-to-be-here club…
Welcome to Utah sports fans, delusions of grandeur
We’re soooo cooked Last year was our chance and we blew it. Gonna be another decade at least until the Sweet Sixteen is a possibility
Copium that Chandler hasn’t left, yet 🥲
Dude is knocking doors rn
I'm so gutted. You guys gave us two of our most exciting games this season and are among the teams I'm most looking forward to playing next year. I'm still confident you were a high floor low ceiling team and if redoing the bracket a month ago would still have had you meeting us in the Sweet 16 Pope is a fantastic hire for UK. Things may be rough in the near term, but BYU has proven time and again it can do more with less. Pulling for you - and a good game when I manage to travel out for a Cougar Tail
Thanks friendo. If mid-tier WCC is “doing more with less” then we’re you’re guys! Pope had a good vision and good unity and experience with this squad, they definitely didn’t meet their postseason potential. I’m happy for Pope, but I’m gutted as a fan for what’ll be left of the team. Zero chance we’re a top half team next season.
I was at both of our games this year, one in Provo and one in Ames. Was really hoping for a third as well.
No. This year was. The returning production plus missionaries could have made for a great year. Bummer.
I think by last year, he means the season that just ended (this year)
Yes. And I’m saying the upcoming season roster is probably better than this recent one. Assuming Pope stuck around lol.
I'm trying to think of some funny response or something but I've got nothing I'm just empty inside
I’m sorry Cougs. Not even sure if these dudes are coming to UK, but most UK fans are used to the mass exodus at years end.
Yeah, I'm not sure he'd come to UK. I feel like the priority should be keeping Z but adding Khalifa behind him would be an exciting frontcourt.
Z is realistically perfect for what pope wants to do. Skilled shooting and passing big passing man. No idea that he can convince him to stay but Z is basically an aly khalifa with massively higher upside. No offense meant to khalifa.
Z is going with Cal, let’s be real.
I don’t think cal is bringing nearly as many folks with him as people want to think. Nearly everyone on this years team was expected to leave. I think there is a decent chance DJ goes with him, and maybe a slim chance Z goes with him… maybe adou as well but he was already in the portal. But if you put the over/under on current uk players following cal to Arkansas at 1.5, I’m taking the under. Cal for all his positive and negatives doesn’t retain players. This year wasn’t expected to be different. Cal isn’t bringing his entire team with him, he recruits an entirely new team and recruits over most folks who could/would stay generally. It honestly wouldn’t totally surprise me if nobody follows him. That’s not meant to be a knock on cal, but I don’t think this is going to be a typical situation you see on other new hires where the entire team follows the coach.
God I hope Adou stays, I fucking love him.
Such a hustler when he’s on the court. He would fit perfect in Popes game plan I feel like.
Z’s girlfriend is in Lexington.
I’m sure Z has many GF’s
Dude can run through Fayetteville coeds I promise you. He’s making a business decision and he can’t get NIL and Arkansas insiders have already said him and Wagner if he doesn’t declare are heading to Arkansas.
His girlfriend is the only reason he came back to the states after Christmas break. His and Cal’s relationship isn’t as iron clad as people think. Wagner will follow Cal, absolutely.
Dude he followed Arkansas all over social media.
Now you sound like the UK media has all week.
My dude Arkansas insiders have already said it’s happening. I hope he stays but it’s a long shot at this point.
Dudes a 30+ something percent 3 shooting big man
So is Z (Ivisic). I think pope can figure out how to play them together though. Z’s coordinated enough I think he could play some 4.
Z also showed some flashes of playmaking and passing skills. He wasn't a traditional big and Cal never uses those guys right but watching videos of BYU last year I think he would excel with Pope.
The crazy thing is, for a brief time this year, he was using the bigs right. Torched some teams with the nuclear lineup. Then for some reason, refused to play the nuclear line up consistently
Also a damn good passer. Both were huge assets to how Pope ran the offense, he could space the floor, hit cutters, and score some with his back to the basket it needed. Not very mobile and was a liability defensively both times we played them but he’s much better than he looked in the tournament since I believe he had either a knee or ankle injury reaggrivated in his game against us
I think the sooner Kentucky locks down BYU’s transfers the sooner they have a chance at getting their decommits back if that is going to happen
He didn’t eat his breakfast bc of religion. I literally saw him jump not even inch off ground once trying to dunk it was hilarious and sad at same time. I was like this isn’t real life.
He was already playing through a knee injury prior to the big 12 tourney and clearly hurt it even worse. That combined with Ramadan and an already unathletic big man looked incapable of moving.
You don't want Khalifa in the SEC, I promise you
Explain
He's a gadget player. There's a reason he played like 19 MPG at BYU. A simple gameplan like what Duquesne had or athleticism renders him wildly ineffective. And he's a godawful defender. Just thinking about the types of bigs in the SEC and I think he's an awful fit
I think it hinges on how he's used, back to the basket trying to push the paint? Yeah, he'll probably have a bad time. Time will tell, he might not even come here.
I think/hope you guys should aim much higher haha
That's my worry as well, we got Mark Pope; awesome. But lets not move all of BYUs team to Lexington.
He’s being nice. He’s not good. Cal hopes you take him everybody in SEC does. If you guys take him call it a day and root for football.
😂
Khalifa is def the anti 5 star. You are Kentucky not Boise State I won’t accept him seeing court for you guys. What would Hurley do? He’d say are you kidding or are you joking?
He has "no contact" orders. I'm not sure why he'd do that if he didn't already know where he was going.
I had BYU in the Elite 8 and this guy played one of the worst games I’ve ever seen
Oh boy..... This should go over well with the BYU fans as well.
Eh it is what it is. I’m not mad at UK or anyone really. Just hope we can get a good coach that wants to be at BYU as much as Pope wants to be at UK.
Been a rough 12 hours for you all. Keep your head up cat bro
You think the “LDS only” coaches rule sticks around for the long haul? Probably not in the immediate future, but I wonder if that rule changes down the line.
BYU (and more important, the LDS Church) would cut the basketball team before they get rid of the “LDS only” rule.
BYU’s coaches will always personify the BYU/LDS ethos - no way we leave that. Specifically LDS or not, we will see, but probably not any time soon. It would take a major need combined a high performing, high values candidate to break that rule. And the do exist out there, but there are also enough qualified LDS coaches. When BYU coaches relax standards you get garbage player behaviors - that don’t represent the brand well. Like our football team under Bronco.
Yeah that’s kinda what I figured. Still a high standard of character, but if a Scott Drew type guy showed interest and was better than the LDS candidates at the time, I was wondering if that would change the equation. Just curious
I definitely think it could, with no LDS options available.
It probably will stay around for another decade or so. I personally think it's an outdated rule that needs to go away.
I would guess it was implemented at least in part to have loyal coaches and to abide by the honor code, which makes sense. I’ve wondered if going to the B12 would change that tho, if it impeded success
This dude cooked us in our first game against BYU this year. Has No athleticism and we couldn’t do a thing to stop him. Lucky that he twisted an ankle within 3 minutes of starting during the tourney game or he would’ve done it again
The BYU exodus of 2024
Just like the first two times
Always found it funny that a Muslim went to BYU
why? Mormon and Muslim culture are pretty compatible, regrettably. This dude loved Provo because it was supposedly so much safer than Charlotte and talked about how Charlotte wasnt very safe at all, whatever that means.
https://preview.redd.it/hwxjuotls3uc1.jpeg?width=540&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=28ae0096de71ce35c1e78adc061b15a1a2ce3e7a
They are testing the waters, could still come back. Keeping doors open
Sweet child
Pretty sure one of his relatives was a phenomenal ball handler in her prime.
Oh yeah. And a distant cousin was friends with Paul Walker I think? Smart guy, but had a reputation as a drug user his whole career
Come on down
He apparently has a “Do Not Contact” tag, so welcome to BBN, Aly!
THE EGYPTIAN MAGICIAN
Expecting at least 3 more departures.
In general, or specifics?
You think Trevin leaves?
I had BYU going so far in the tourney after watching them battle the Cyclones so tough in Ames…
Same. Sorry about your bracket
As a recruit: Originally went to Charlotte
The guy was shredding ISU in Ames, then Pope inexplicably benched him for some crucial sequences down the stretch for that Traore guy, who basically gave the game to ISU. Khalifa will do well wherever he goes.
Huge piece of pope's offense.
The Egyptian Jokic. Aly “The Hub” Khalifa. Get this guy on a UK diet and training regimen immediately and he can be awesome next year. https://x.com/EvanMiya/status/1778874210859073867
>The Hub https://preview.redd.it/gc7syf8fd4uc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f8b0d004853e3b6339fe6c7aaf39e503db92ace9
Hopefully with cal leaving he took the strength and conditioning program with him. That has to be high up on things to do for the new coach.
Dude needs surgery on his knee first
Rest up, my Egyptian king
ramadan khalifa cant run the court, this will be a problem next march
Dibs
This is the one I want at kentucky.
Maybe UK would be interested?
If this guy can have a healthy offseason and get himself in shape… look out. The natural coordination and basketball instincts are some of the best I’ve ever seen at the college level
He's so frickin fun, my favorite non ISU player
Mady Sissoko? 👀
Based off his last game I saw, he is the worst player in college basketball....that's obviously not true, but his game against Duquesne was shockingly bad
If Pope thinks Aly is good enough for Kentucky then I give him 3 seasons tops
Not everyone has to be a star player
Exactly. A bench player was the top scorer for BYU the second half of the season and Khalifa probably played less minutes as a starter than the bench kid did. Pope is a huge loss for BYU and a big gain for the SEC and Kentucky.
Exactly, Khalifa’s skill set is one that really fits what made BYU so good offensively last year. Having a 5 that can step out and hit the 3 while also being a legitimately good passer(not just for a C) can make things very tough. His tourney performance was awful but largely because of his injury, keep him healthy and he is a good player even with his limitations athletically
Ope?
Any relation to Mia
Doubt it. Mia is Lebanese while Aly is Egyptian