Jeff Greer

@jeffgreer_cj

Up next: No. 7 U of L at Boston College, 3 p.m., Saturday, Chestnut Hill, Mass. TV: WHAS-11.

Anas Mahmoud's parents wrestle with a dilemma every day their son is 6,200 miles from home in Cairo, Egypt.

They are thrilled with his success on and off the basketball court. They are proud of the person the 21-year-old has become – a thoughtful college student with a perpetual smile on his face. They are heartened that Anas has longtime family friends in the Louisville area with whom he can observe Ramadan, eat meals after games and reminisce about life back home.

They also fight shaky internet connections in Egypt, which makes it hard for them to watch their son's games and forces them to rely on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to see clips of him and stories about him. And they desperately miss their son; FaceTime and Skype conversations don't quite make up for Anas not being there.

"We have never been more proud of him," Osama Mahmoud said in email translated by Ahmed Awadallah, a family friend who attended U of L. "Not just because he is successful and all that, but because we know how much he is willing to sacrifice in order for him to reach his dreams. At the same time, we can never explain how much we miss him being around, and it makes us really sad that we can't go and support him like we used to do. You can see it in his mom's eyes every time we try to watch him play."

MORE ON MAHMOUD

►Immigration order won't impact U of L players

►Basketball a sanctuary for Mahmoud

►Message from dad fuels Mahmoud vs. Duke

►From 2014: Mahmoud getting a grasp on American life

The younger Mahmoud, a 7-foot junior at U of L, is in the midst of a coming-of-age season with the Cards. He has averaged 7.7 points, 4.1 rebounds and two blocks per game since moving into the Cards' lineup on Dec. 31, and his 17 points, 11 rebounds, two steals and one block led Louisville to a 78-69 win over Duke on national television.

Mahmoud and his parents don't talk about basketball too often, Anas said, except for when his dad noticed Anas was no longer having as much fun playing basketball. Osama's encouragement to be himself and play with joy prompted Mahmoud to have his best game in a Louisville uniform.

"Hopefully he watched a little bit today," Mahmoud said after the Duke game, "and he'll be proud of me."

Mahmoud is the long-armed safety net in the middle of Louisville's suffocating defense, which is second in the nation in efficiency, according to Ken Pomeroy's analytics site. He is developing into U of L's best passer and scorer among its frontcourt players. And he is one of several lighthearted, easygoing figures in U of L's close-knit locker room.

The best part of all that, at least in the eyes of U of L's coaching staff, is Mahmoud, at 223 pounds, is only just scratching the surface of his potential. He is not yet immune to inconsistency, and he is still working with former U of L big man David Padgett, now an assistant coach, on the intricacies of the game.

"He's not been a surprise this year, but he's been a great asset to our team," Louisville coach Rick Pitino said. "It's a process with all these guys that have physical deficiencies. It's just a matter of coming on. ... Anas still has a long way to go."

Awadallah said Mahmoud has paved a path to the United States for some 15-20 young Egyptian basketball players. His brother is here for high school.

What makes it special, Osama Mahmoud said, is that his son is not one to avoid people. He keeps in touch with former teammates and school friends. There is a big group of Mahmoud supporters back in Egypt who pass around his latest highlight clips and photos from Louisville games.

"People who know Anas always look to him with love and pride," Osama Mahmoud said. "He has always been very loved in our family and between his friends, and he truly leaves a mark in everyone's lives."

Heba Awadallah and her parents, who have long been friends with the Mahmouds and now live in Middletown, serve as Mahmoud's family away from home. Heba and her mother go to most of Anas's home games, and they try to get dinner afterward with him as much as possible.

They also host Mahmoud during the first week of Ramadan, when practicing Muslims fast during the day and eat after sundown. Mahmoud joked earlier this season that breaking the fasts during Ramadan is seemingly the only time he can add weight to his lanky frame.

"It’s really hard to fast and play as often as they do," Heba said. "To me, it shows a lot of determination and strong will and his foundation of values and morals. He can say, 'Despite what’s going on, I can’t lose sight of who I am and what I believe in.'"

Heba, a pharmacist, and Ahmed, who works for Yum! Brands, keep up with Mahmoud on things like current events, Arabic movies and the Egyptian national soccer team, which has reached the Sunday final of the African Nations Cup, the continent's most prestigious tournament.

There is, Heba said, a lot of laughing and joking.

"He has a core support," Heba said. "I don’t know if he knew where his path was going to be as a child. Anybody younger than him, an aspiring basketball player especially, will see that just the fact that he gets to play basketball in the U.S. can cause a lot of joy and happiness. Somebody else could be upset because the doesn’t have his immediate family, but that’s not the case for him."

From Cairo, Mahmoud's parents focus on conversations about life with their son. But Anas said there's that basic trust, more than 6,000 miles apart, that he will "do what I do" and know that he has a whole community in Egypt and a small base in Louisville backing him.

"We always remind him that we will always support him, no matter what happens," Osama Mahmoud said, "and that we will always be there for him, just like he has always been here for us."