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Khalil Ahmad (basketball)

Khalil Ahmad
No. 44 – Victoria Libertas Pesaro
PositionGuard
LeagueLBA
Personal information
Born (1996-12-24) December 24, 1996 (age 27)
Anaheim, California, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High schoolCentennial High School
CollegeCal State Fullerton (2015–2019)
NBA draft2019: undrafted
Playing career2019–present
Career history
2019–2020Keflavik
2020–2021Horsens IC
2022Niagara River Lions
2022–2023Hapoel Be'er Sheva
2023Niagara River Lions
2023–2024Filou Oostende
2024Niagara River Lions
2024–presentCarpegna Prosciutto Basket Pesaro
Career highlights and awards

Khalil-Ullah Ahmad (born December 24, 1996) is an American basketball player for the Carpegna Prosciutto Basket Pesaro of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). He played college basketball for Cal State Fullerton.

Early life and high school

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Ahmad was born in Anaheim, California, to Tariq and Michelle Ahmad, has a younger sister, Aliyah, and his hometown is Corona, California, southeast of Los Angeles.[1][2][3] He is 6' 4" (193 cm) tall, and weighs 185 pounds (84 kg).[2][1]

He played high school basketball at both guard positions for Centennial High School ('15) in Corona.[1][2][4] As a senior Ahmad averaged 11.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game.[1]

College career

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Ahmad played college basketball for the Titans for Cal State Fullerton ('19) from 2015–19.[4][2] In 2016 he averaged 14.3 points per game (7th in the Big West Conference) as the league's top scoring freshman, and was 8th in the conference with a .772 free throw percentage, along with 4.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game, and was named Big West Freshman of the Year and All-Big West Honorable Mention.[5][1][2]

As a junior in 2017–18 he scored 15.1 points per game (6th in the Big West), with 1.2 steals per game (8th) and an .829 free throw percentage (5th).[5][1] In 2018–19 he scored 18.2 points per game (4th in the Big West), and led he league in steals with 1.6 per game, while shooting an .814 free throw percentage (6th).[1] In both 2018 and 2019 he was named All-Big West Second Team and Big West All-Tournament Team.[2] In 2019 he then played in the invite-only Drew Summer League in Los Angeles.[6][7][8]

Professional career

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In 2019–20 Ahmad played for Keflavik in the Úrvalsdeild karla in Iceland.[9] He averaged 19.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 2.1 steals per game.[10][4]

In 2021–22 he first played for Horsens IC of Basketligaen in Denmark, averaging 19.2 points per game (4th in the league), 4.5 assists per game (10th), and 1.8 steals per game (6th).[10][11] Ahmad was named to the Eurobasket.com All-Danish Ligaen Second Team.[12]

That season Ahmad next played for the Niagara River Lions of the CEBL, with whom he averaged a league-high 20.7 points per game, with 4.6 assists per game (7th-most in the league) and 1.9 steals (4th-best).[13][14] In 2021–22 he was named both Canadian Elite Basketball League Player of the Year and Canadian Elite Basketball League Clutch Player of the Year.[15][16] In September 2022, at the invitation of the NBA's Utah Jazz, he attended a mini-camp that they held.[17]

In 2022–23 Ahmad is playing for Hapoel Be'er Sheva in the Israeli Basketball Premier League.[2][18]

On June 1, 2023, Ahmad re-signed with the Niagara River Lions.[19]

On August 9, 2023, Ahmad signed with Filou Oostende.[20]

On February 29, 2024, Ahmad agreed to return to the Niagara River Lions for a third stint.[21]

On June 28, 2024, Ahmad signed with Carpegna Prosciutto Basket Pesaro of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA).[22]

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Khalil Ahmad". Cal State Fullerton Athletics.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Khalil Ahmad Player Profile, Cal State Fullerton". RealGM.
  3. ^ Bernd Frank (August 11, 2022). "River Lions shooting guard Khalil Ahmad wins league MVP, clutch player honours". St. Catharines Standard.
  4. ^ a b c "Khalil Ahmad Player Profile, Hapoel Altshuler Shaham Beer Sheva". Eurobasket.
  5. ^ a b "Khalil Ahmad College Stats, School, Draft, Gamelog, Splits". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
  6. ^ "River Lions Sign American Khalil Ahmad". OurSports Central. March 15, 2022.
  7. ^ Bill Sheehan (April 16, 2020). "Basketball Alumni Find Success in Europe". CSUF News.
  8. ^ Eprem, Jared (September 18, 2018). "NBA dreams stay alive for Khalil Ahmad, Johnny Wang after Drew League experience". Daily Titan.
  9. ^ "Khalil Ahmad Basketball Player – Shooting Guard". Scout Basketball.
  10. ^ a b "River Lions Sign American Khalil Ahmad," CEBL, March 15, 2022.
  11. ^ "Danish Basketligaen Stats". RealGM.
  12. ^ "Khalil Ahmad (ex Niagara) is a newcomer at H. Be'er Sheva". Eurobasket News. October 6, 2022.
  13. ^ "Canadian Elite Basketball League Stats". RealGM.
  14. ^ "Khalil Ahmad Named CEBL Most Valuable Player". Fullerton Titans. August 12, 2022.
  15. ^ "River Lions' Khalil Ahmad wins CEBL MVP, clutch player of year awards," The Canadian Press, August 10, 2022.
  16. ^ "Niagara River Lions' Ahmad picks up CEBL MVP and clutch player of year awards". The Toronto Star. August 10, 2022.
  17. ^ Don Redmond (August 16, 2022). "Niagara River Lion guard getting mini-camp shot with Utah Jazz". inNiagaraRegion.
  18. ^ Joshua Halickman (January 23, 2023). "Hapoel nips Maccabi in Tel Aviv derby". The Jerusalem Post.
  19. ^ "River Lions Sign 2022 Most Valuable Player, Khalil Ahmad Ahead of Home Opener". RiverLions.ca. June 1, 2023. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  20. ^ "Welcome Khalil!". BCOostende.be (in Dutch). August 9, 2023. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  21. ^ "River Lions Welcome Back Top 4 Leading Scorers from 2023". RiverLions.ca. February 29, 2024. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
  22. ^ "Un play/guardia americano per la Carpegna Prosciutto Basket Pesaro: arriva Khalil Ahmad". victorialibertas.it (in Italian). June 28, 2024. Retrieved July 2, 2024.