海角大神

Aly Khalifa鈥檚 plan to start his day March 21: wake up at 4:30 a.m., a witching hour for a college kid if ever there was one, and roll out of bed for the same breakfast as always: scrambled eggs, yogurt, some fruit, all washed down with a whole lot of water.

It鈥檚 the last he was to eat or drink for nearly 16 hours.

Then he was to聽pray, prostrating in accordance with Ramadan, the holiest month for Muslims, not for leading聽Brigham Young University聽to victory in its game hours later against Duquesne but out of a profound sense of reverential devotion.

It is a fast Mr. Khalifa is embarking on willingly, yet one that carries with it unusual challenges during the NCAA Tournament. The energy the 6-foot-11 forward from Alexandria, Egypt, will expend on the court over 40 minutes cannot be replenished until much later in the day, after the sun mercifully drops over the horizon and darkness finally sets in.

鈥淣ot going to lie,鈥� Mr. Khalifa said in a corner of the Cougars鈥� locker room March 20, having just stepped off the bus for practice at about the same time as tipoff will occur the following morning. 鈥淚鈥檓 real thirsty right now. That鈥檚 the hardest part.鈥�

One of the Five Pillars of Islam is the 鈥渟awm,鈥� where during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar healthy adults are required to abstain from food and drink during daylight hours. The practice is intended to renew their awareness and gratitude for all that God has bestowed upon them, and to serve as a reminder of their religious obligation to help those less fortunate.

There are exceptions for children and the elderly, women who are pregnant and those who are traveling, and that could have given Mr. Khalifa a reprieve. In fact, BYU teammates Fousseyni Traore, a native of Mali, and Atiki Ally Atiki, who was recruited to the predominantly Mormon school from Tanzania, chose to observe Ramadan in other ways, such as extended prayer.

Yet Mr. Khalifa wanted to fast in earnest, putting faith in God 鈥撀燼nd the BYU training staff 鈥撀爃e could endure such deprivation.

Cougars coach Mark Pope has provided leadership and guidance. Michael Davie, the school鈥檚 director of sports science, has been meticulously monitoring his weight and hydration level. Robert Ramos, the director of sports medicine, is providing solidarity 鈥撀犫�淗e鈥檚 doing it with me,鈥� Mr. Khalifa said with a smile. 鈥淩ob was like, 鈥業 got you.鈥欌��

They had a dry run last week during the Big 12 Tournament, where the Cougars won a second-round game against UCF before losing in the quarterfinals to Texas Tech.聽

鈥淲e鈥檙e getting more comfortable with the schedule, more comfortable with the diet, more comfortable with the first thing he eats in the evening and how he rations it out,鈥� Mr. Pope said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 become way more comfortable. He鈥檚 had a bit more juice [energy] every day. He鈥檚 adjusted to it. I鈥檓 super proud of him. He鈥檚 an incredible example of faith and devotion.鈥�

Cougars guard Richie Saunders, who has helped to raise money to build basketball courts in West Africa, knew Mr. Khalifa鈥檚 fast would be a tremendous sacrifice. But he also knew that a close-knit team that had successfully navigated its first season in the Big 12 to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in three years would be there to help.

They might need to play more minutes. Adjust their style. Provide emotional support, just as much as the physical kind.

鈥淚 knew that sacrifice for him,鈥� Mr. Saunders said, 鈥渂ut we鈥檙e such a team of faith, all the different nuances or whatever. If that鈥檚 his choice, we鈥檙e going to be behind him. We鈥檙e going to carry him when he needs to be carried.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 a team,鈥� Mr. Saunders said. 鈥淵ou know?鈥�

Mr. Khalifa isn鈥檛 unique in the NCAA Tournament. Samson Johnson and Hassan Diarra of No. 1 overall seed UConn fasted last year, when the Huskies rolled to the national championship, and are planning to do the same as they defend their title.

So far, tipoff times have worked in Mr. Khalifa鈥檚 favor. Both of the Cougars鈥� games in the Big 12 Tournament started before noon, and their game against Duquesne on March 21 will begin at 11:40 a.m. That beats a game that would start in the midafternoon, when Mr. Khalifa鈥檚 hunger pangs and unquenchable thirst would be at their worst.

They won鈥檛 know until the night of March 21, assuming they win, when they will tip against Illinois or Morehead State on March 23.

鈥淭he built-in part of faith is that you kind of press forward with your acts of devotion,鈥� Mr. Pope said, 鈥渁nd it鈥檚 inherent in that you have faith that God鈥檚 will is going to be done. I don鈥檛 think Aly is asking for any handouts. I don鈥檛 think our players in their walk of faith are asking for any accommodations or handouts. I think that defies the point of it.鈥�

鈥淥ne of the beautiful things about acts of devotion, which all of our guys on our team are incredibly familiar with, is that you kind of put your offering on the altar, so to speak 鈥� the figurative altar 鈥� and then you trust that God鈥檚 will is going to be done.鈥�

This story was reported by The Associated Press.