Seeing red

Good morning! In the market for some sneakers or new shoes to hoop in? Your options may soon shift. At least if you still shop in malls…

Let’s get to Thursday’s college hoops news.

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1. Louisville scrambles after NCAA says Khalifa ineligible

Aly Khalifa had a plan for 2025-26. The 6-10, 250-pound center, who started 26 games for BYU during the 2023-24 season and sat out this season after transferring to Louisville, was set to step into featured role for the Cardinals with a fully healthy knee.

That plan hit a major snag.

This was a surprising and a confusing development.

Khalifa has only played three years of college basketball. He did redshirt as a true freshman at Charlotte in 2020-21, so perhaps two medical redshirt seasons raised a flag for the NCAA — even though that shouldn’t matter because that was the “bonus COVID season” where all players got an additional season of eligibility.

Khalifa will hire legal council to appeal this decision.

Still, if Khalifa is not eligible to play, it’s a hit for the Cardinals. The big man is widely regarded as one of the game’s best passing big men, which is ideal for an offense that’s predicated on spacing and shooting. Also important? The frontcourt depth would take a hit.

Starting forward Kasean Pryor, who missed most of last season with an ACL injury, is back. Louisville also has Sananda Fru, is a 6-11 big man from Germany. But that’s it. Louisville lost big man James Scott to the portal and may need to have a contingency plan.

2. Cincy lands an upside player + more transfer moves

There’s something to be said for adding a player in mid-May when a roster is mostly full. That affords coaches a chance to project outcomes a bit more.

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