‘He’s battling. That’s the key’
Egyptian centre Aly Ahmed adjusting to life on and off the court
Aly Ahmed says he’s more used to seeing sand than snow, but the Egyptian is adjusting to both the cold weather and life as a rookie with the Cape Breton Highlanders.
“It’s a little cold for me,” the 6-9 post player from Alexandria, Egypt, said with a laugh. “But it’s alright. The cold is not that bad so far. But I like it, it’s really pretty.
“In the summer when the weather is warmer I can imagine there will be so much fun (things) to do.”
In 2016, the 25-year-old was drafted in the fifth round by the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA Development League, an affiliate of the NBA’s Miami Heat. But Ahmed said due to paperwork issues with his visa, he was unable to play for the team, which resulted in a year off and working out on his own.
“A good relationship with my agent, and coach, and (Highlanders president Tyrone Levingston), they brought me here and trust me,” said Ahmed. “I told them that I’d been working out and they said ‘hey, come try out for the tryout time’ and I came and I was picked.”
In university, Ahmed played three seasons of NCAA Division
1 ball with the California State University Bakersfield Roadrunners, where he earned first team all-Western Athletic Conference honours twice. Ahmed was only one of four players in school history to score at least 1,000 points and record 500 rebounds in his career. His team won a conference banner in his final season and went on to compete at the March Madness national championship.
With the Highlanders, Ahmed has averaged 8.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in his rookie campaign.
“I’m working on my legs to get a little faster in the defensive end and in the offensive end, I just need to make the easy shots and be more effective for the team,” he said.
Highlanders head coach Rob Spon said Ahmed learning new systems with his new team has been a challenge, but he plays and practices hard and is willing to learn.
“He’s battling. That’s the key. He brings that size and once he understands the game and how to defend the pro game, he’s going to be an even better asset
for us,” said Spon.
Cape Breton (5-9) will take a three-game winning streak into their game with the Halifax Hurricanes (7-6) tonight at Centre 200, a 7 p.m. tipoff. However, they’ll be without Ahmed, who will serve a one-game suspension for an unintentional elbow he threw during their game Dec. 17 against the Niagara River Lions.
“Our team was right there — we were losing by one point, losing by three points, losing at the end of the game we had leads in,” said Spon. “I said once we learned how to finish games and win, we’re going to go on our streak and here it is.”
Tonight’s game is the first of a four-game homestand. Next up, they’ll host the Island Storm on Jan. 12.