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Freshman El-Amin has displayed a maturity beyond his years, both on and off the
court
(Manny Millan)
| Khalid El-Amin,
Connecticut
Class: Freshman
Position:
Guard
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 200
DOB: April 25,
1979
Hometown: Minneapolis
High School:
North
Vital Stats:
15.5 points per game, 2.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.8
steals
By David
Seigerman
The keys were his for the taking. All that was needed to
validate Khalid El-Amin's verbal commitment to the
University of Minnesota was his John Hancock, and coach
Clem Haskins would have turned over the Golden Gophers to
the point guard prodigy from up the road. Before signing on
the dotted line, however, El-Amin decided his best route to
the Final Four began beyond the boundaries of his native
Minneapolis.
Instead of staying home, El-Amin headed east to
Connecticut, where he became the third freshman point guard
to start for the Huskies under Jim
Calhoun.
"There are times when he gets a little carried away,
but you don't want to harness a player like that. You want
him to play with the fearlessness that he has," says
Calhoun, whose experiments with freshmen at the point have
been
successful.
Tate George was the first, starting all but one game back
in 1986-87. Seven years later, Doron Sheffer, a
non-traditional freshman who arrived in Storrs with a
résumé that included stints in the Israeli
military and on the national team, set the school record
for assists by a first-year
Husky.
If UConn enjoys an extended postseason, El-Amin likely will
surpass Sheffer's assists mark as well as the freshman
scoring record set 19 years ago by Corny Thompson. "I
really feel good about my responsibility to the team, and I
really feel like I can handle that responsibility,"
El-Amin says. "I feel that if coach didn't have
confidence in me, he wouldn't put me in all types of
situations."
Calhoun's confidence stems from El-Amin's defensive
tenacity and offensive explosiveness—he's the team's
second-leading scorer (15.5) behind only All-America candidate Richard Hamilton—and
from his maturity. As an 18-year-old, El-Amin already had
led his high school team to three state championships,
endured a divorce and overcome several failed attempts to
meet the minimum standards on his college entrance exams.
By the time he got to college, El-Amin wasn't about to be
rattled by the so-called pressure of starting as a freshman
for a team that rose as high as sixth in the
polls.
"He's a magnificently gifted kid and he needs to be
coached to be a great player, which he certainly can
become," says
Calhoun.
Other Spotlights
March 20: Andre Miller, Utah
March 19: Brian Cardinal, Purdue
March 18: Tim Young, Stanford
March 17: Sarunas
Jasikevicius, Maryland; Adia Barnes, Arizona
March 16: Mateen Cleaves, Michigan; Murriel Page, Florida
March 15: Jason Hart, Syracuse
March 14: Kris Johnson, UCLA
March 13: Lee Nailon, Texas Christian
March 12: Brian Earl, Princeton
March 11: Tyrone Weeks, Massachusetts
March 10: Brett Robisch, Oklahoma St.
March 9: Larry Hughes, Saint Louis
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