Khalid El-Amin

Infobox NBA Player
name = Khalid El-Amin
nickname =


image_size =
league = Ukrainian Super League
height_ft = 5
height_in = 10
weight_lbs= 200
team = Azovmash Mariupol
position = Point guard
birth_date = birth date and age|1979|4|25
birth_place = Minneapolis, Minnesota
college = Connecticut
nationality = USA
draft = 2nd round, 34th overall
draft_team = Chicago Bulls
draft_year = 2000
former_teams = Chicago Bulls (2000-2001)
Gary Steelheads
Dakota Wizards
Strasbourg IG (2001-2002)
Ironi Ramat Gan (2002-2003)
Beşiktaş Cola Turka (2003-2005)
Azovmash Mariupol (2005-2007)
Türk Telekom B.K. (2007-2008)
career_start = 2000
career_end =
awards =

Khalid El-Amin (born April 25, 1979 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American professional basketball player. He was a member of the 1999 UConn men's basketball team that won the NCAA championship. He is originally from Minnesota where he played for North High School in Minneapolis. In 2000, he was selected in the 2nd round by the Chicago Bulls of the NBA Draft and played 50 games for them, averaging 6.3 points and 2.9 assists per game.

El-Amin currently plays for Azovmash Mariupol of the Ukrainian basketball league. He has also played in the CBA and the TBL.

College career

After leading Minneapolis North HS to four straight state titles and being named a McDonald's All-American, the three-time Minnesota State Player of the Year was named Big East Conference Rookie of the Year while being second in the team in scoring (16.0) and setting the UConn single-season scoring record for a freshman. He is widely considered to be the most influential piece in their late 90's college basketball dominance. Head Coach Jim Calhoun frequently referred to him as a "more talented Richard Hamilton".

El-Amin, with his sawed-off, chunky frame, would later earn a reputation as a winner at UConn. As a sophomore, El-Amin will forever be remembered by University of Connecticut fans for being the starting point guard on their team that won the 1999 NCAA Championship game thriller over Duke. In the final game he scored the Huskies' final 4 points.

In 2000, playing on a team not quite as good as the previous year, El-Amin led the Huskies in scoring (16.0), assists (4.4) and steals (1.7) and was named to the All-Big East first team. He was also one of 15 finalists for the Naismith Award and set a Big East record by making 93.4 percent of his FTs in league games. He took the Huskies as far as he could before a severe ankle sprain left him at less than half speed in a season-ending NCAA tournament loss to Tennessee.

He left UConn as fourth all-time at the school in FT percentage at 82.2, sixth all-time at in assists and fifth in steals. His averages per game in his final season are 31.9 minutes, 16.0 points, 3.1 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 2.7 turnovers, 1.7 steals, makes 2.9 of 5.5 field goals (41.1%) and 4.1 of 4.6 free throws (89.2%). He finished his college career with averages of 30.1 minutes, 15.3 points on 41.6% shooting and 82.2% free throws, 3.0 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 2.7 turnovers and 1.7 steals.

El-Amin also helped the U.S. to a gold medal performance in the '98 Goodwill Games in New York City.

NBA career

El-Amin earned a second round 34th overall selection by the Chicago Bulls in the 2000 NBA Draft.That year, he played in the Schick Rookie Challenge at All-Star weekend in Washington, DC and scored 18 points. He also played in the NBA briefly with the Miami Heat in 2002.

In 50 games in the NBA, El-Amin averaged 6.3 points with 2.9 assists, 1.6 rebounds, 1.0 steals, 1.1 turnovers and 2.0 fouls in 18.6 minutes.

European career

El-Amin signed with Strasbourg (France) in January 2002. He then joined Maccabi Ironi Ramat Gan (Israel) in November 2002.

He joined Besiktas Istanbul of the Turkish league in August 2003. Dominating the league for two seasons, El-Amin was second in scoring (20.9) and third in assists (5.2) in his first season. In 2005, he led the league in assists and averaged 20.4 points a game. He was named MVP of the Turkish League All-Star Game in 2005 and was a member of the World Team at the 2005 FIBA Europe All-Star Game.

In June 2005, he started his first season with Azovmash Mariupol of the Ukraine Superleague. Azovmash won the 2006 Ukrainian Championship, and El-Amin was named the MVP of both the regular season and playoffs. [Jones, Bomani. "Cautionary Tales." "ESPN.com", http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=joneslist/070504]

In August 2007, he started his first season with Türk Telekom B.K. of the Turkish basketball league.

Player profile

El-Amin is described as a flashy point guard but not a physically gifted one. According to scouting reports, he is an exceptional ballhandler but is a big defensive liability. A lack of height hurts his game on top of a lack of a consistent jumpshot.

Trivia

* He was jeered by opposing college crowds as "fatboy" or "doughboy" due to his heavy body build. [cite news | first = Eule | last = Brian | title = El-Amin too much in UConn win | url = http://daily.stanford.edu/article/1999/2/8/elaminTooMuchInUconnWin | work = The Stanford Daily | publisher = Stanford University | date = February 8, 1999 | accessdate = 2007-05-31 ]
* Scored a collegiate career-high 34 points in a 75-70 loss to the University of Notre Dame on January 5, 2000, which ended the UConn Huskies' 10-game winning streak. [cite news | title = ND catches No. 2 UConn by surprise | url = http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20000106/ai_n9599546 | work = Chicago Sun-Times | date = January 6, 2007 | accessdate = 2007-05-31]

Notes

External links

*
* [http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/e/el-amkh01.html College & NBA stats] @ basketballreference.com
* [http://www.basketballreference.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=EL-AMKH01 College & NBA stats] @ databasebasketball.com
* [http://espn.go.com/premium/espninc/magazine/s/vol2no24out.html ESPN Magazine interview]