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.
| No. 44 – Victoria Libertas Pesaro | |
|---|---|
| Position | Guard |
| League | LBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | December 24, 1996 Anaheim, California, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Listed weight | 185 lb (84 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Centennial High School |
| College | Cal State Fullerton (2015–2019) |
| NBA draft | 2019: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2019–present |
| Career history | |
| 2019–2020 | Keflavik |
| 2020–2021 | Horsens IC |
| 2022 | Niagara River Lions |
| 2022–2023 | Hapoel Be'er Sheva |
| 2023 | Niagara River Lions |
| 2023–2024 | Filou Oostende |
| 2024 | Niagara River Lions |
| 2024–present | Carpegna Prosciutto Basket Pesaro |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Early life and high school
editAhmad 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
editAhmad 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
editIn 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]
External links
edit- Khalil Ahmad Profile at Eurobasket.com
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g "Khalil Ahmad". Cal State Fullerton Athletics.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Khalil Ahmad Player Profile, Cal State Fullerton". RealGM.
- ^ Bernd Frank (August 11, 2022). "River Lions shooting guard Khalil Ahmad wins league MVP, clutch player honours". St. Catharines Standard.
- ^ a b c "Khalil Ahmad Player Profile, Hapoel Altshuler Shaham Beer Sheva". Eurobasket.
- ^ a b "Khalil Ahmad College Stats, School, Draft, Gamelog, Splits". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
- ^ "River Lions Sign American Khalil Ahmad". OurSports Central. March 15, 2022.
- ^ Bill Sheehan (April 16, 2020). "Basketball Alumni Find Success in Europe". CSUF News.
- ^ Eprem, Jared (September 18, 2018). "NBA dreams stay alive for Khalil Ahmad, Johnny Wang after Drew League experience". Daily Titan.
- ^ "Khalil Ahmad Basketball Player – Shooting Guard". Scout Basketball.
- ^ a b "River Lions Sign American Khalil Ahmad," CEBL, March 15, 2022.
- ^ "Danish Basketligaen Stats". RealGM.
- ^ "Khalil Ahmad (ex Niagara) is a newcomer at H. Be'er Sheva". Eurobasket News. October 6, 2022.
- ^ "Canadian Elite Basketball League Stats". RealGM.
- ^ "Khalil Ahmad Named CEBL Most Valuable Player". Fullerton Titans. August 12, 2022.
- ^ "River Lions' Khalil Ahmad wins CEBL MVP, clutch player of year awards," The Canadian Press, August 10, 2022.
- ^ "Niagara River Lions' Ahmad picks up CEBL MVP and clutch player of year awards". The Toronto Star. August 10, 2022.
- ^ Don Redmond (August 16, 2022). "Niagara River Lion guard getting mini-camp shot with Utah Jazz". inNiagaraRegion.
- ^ Joshua Halickman (January 23, 2023). "Hapoel nips Maccabi in Tel Aviv derby". The Jerusalem Post.
- ^ "River Lions Sign 2022 Most Valuable Player, Khalil Ahmad Ahead of Home Opener". RiverLions.ca. June 1, 2023. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
- ^ "Welcome Khalil!". BCOostende.be (in Dutch). August 9, 2023. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
- ^ "River Lions Welcome Back Top 4 Leading Scorers from 2023". RiverLions.ca. February 29, 2024. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
- ^ "Un play/guardia americano per la Carpegna Prosciutto Basket Pesaro: arriva Khalil Ahmad". victorialibertas.it (in Italian). June 28, 2024. Retrieved July 2, 2024.