| | By Andy Katz
ESPN.com
STORRS, Conn. -- Khalid El-Amin isn't around. He's not going to make some sort of grand entrance into practice.
He's gone, left last spring for the NBA after three of the most successful seasons in school history -- rivaling perhaps, any player's history. El-Amin won a national title as a Connecticut sophomore in 1999, averaged 30 wins in three seasons, and won a total of 91 contests before leaving after his junior season.
But more than simply being the point guard on a dominant team, El-Amin defined Connecticut's program for better or worse during his tenure.
|  | | Albert Mouring will lead by example, not words, on a UConn team searching for a new leader and identity this season. |
He wore the target in every opposing arena. He was the spokesperson to light up a reporter's notebook and an opposing coach's bulletin board. He was the player the Huskies loved to have on their team, the player the opposing fans loved to hate.
"There is no other Khalid," Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun said Saturday during ESPN.com's preseason tour. "But we've won with tough, quiet guards like Kevin Ollie and Doron Sheffer. We can win with Taliek Brown and Marcus Cox (at the point).
"It's a new look. Will we have the bravado we had? Nobody that I've ever had, had that. I've had more talented players, but none with Khalid's personality."
Someone will take El-Amin's place. The Huskies' success this season depends on it. UConn relied too much on him last year on the court and was exposed when he played hurt in the NCAA Tournament loss to Tennessee.
But who takes over for El-Amin is still a question.
The easy answer is to go with senior shooting guard Albert Mouring. Mouring certainly has the shooting touch and the numbers (13.9 ppg. a year ago) to become the team's go-to player. But Mouring might be the quietest player on the team.
He'll have to lead by playing, not by talking.
In fact, the entire team is so soft-spoken that you struggle to hear what they've said on a tape recorder, let alone during a regular conversation.
That's why Calhoun might be facing one of his more challenging seasons. The new-look Huskies have the talent to be better then last year, but don't have the personality yet that goes with a team billed as the consummate favorite.
The Huskies, the returnees and the newcomers, feel the pressure of being billed as the team to beat in the Big East, even if they're not sure who will lead them there, yet.
"We were basically role players returning trying to find a superstar on the team," said senior forward Edmund Saunders. "It's hard to say right now who that will be. We're still trying to come together as a team."
Whether he's ready or not, it's Mouring's turn.
"I'll have to step up and be a leader and be the leader of this team," Mouring said. "It's a new era. It went from Ray Allen to Rip Hamilton to Khalid. Now it's my turn to step up. Each year Connecticut produces a great player and this year ..."
Connecticut hasn't been this unsure of itself since Kirk King's suspension marred the NIT year of 1996-97. But a season removed from winning the national title, the Huskies have continued to build a program, not just a great team.
The Huskies put together one of the top recruiting classes in the nation with the arrival of the 6-foot-1 Brown; 6-7 small forward Caron Butler; 6-7 junior college transfer Johnnie Selvie; and versatile 6-8 forward Scott Hazelton, who has been out of practice with nagging injuries.
More athletic and versatile then a year ago, the Huskies will rely on newcomers at every key position. In fact, three could start, with Brown at the point, and Butler and Selvie at the forwards next to 6-11 senior center Souleymane Wane. Butler and Selvie could also rotate in with Saunders, with Mouring at shooting guard.
"These are very talented kids," Calhoun said. "There is an air of confidence, an aura about them. We've created that here when new faces come in."
Brown already has an attitude, albeit not as vocal as El-Amin. With all due respect to the Chicago Bulls' potential starting point, Brown said he can last longer on the court than El-Amin.
"It's going to be different than Khalid," said Brown, who is one of three high-profile New York City point guards entering the Big East this season, along with St. John's Omar Cook and Seton Hall's Andre Barrett. "Khalid's gone and it's time for me to step up and fill his shoes and do the things he couldn't do -- like pick up a man fullcourt and stay on the court longer. He would get tired and winded sometimes."
The freshmen all agree with Calhoun in his assessment that this might be the best, if not most diverse, newcomer class at Connecticut. It's easy for the vets to concur. The arrival of Butler takes pressure to produce off Wane and 6-10 junior forward Ajou Deng.
Deng felt the weight of the world on his shoulders last season as he tried to figure out the college game, let alone what position to play. He said he still feels more comfortable inside, but is learning each day to put the ball on the floor and play more facing the basket.
"There's still a lot of pressure on us," said Butler.
Butler might end up shouldering most of it, especially El-Amin's penchant for dealing with distractions. Butler is waiting word as to whether or not he'll have to sit three games, although it might not be two of the three at the Maui Invitational, for accepting some financial help in attending Maine Central Institute.
The NCAA's amnesty rule calls for players to admit that they received aid and then serve a 30-percent penalty (roughly three games).
"I've got to take a slap on the hand and proceed with my career," Butler said. "I don't think it's fair. They've got rules and I've got to abide by them. If they think something was violated then so be it."
The Huskies might be able to finagle with the penalty if he has to sit. Exhibitions don't count, but an interpretation of the rule might allow for the Huskies to choose the three games. If they can, then Butler doesn't have to miss the brutal Maui tournament in which the Huskies open with underrated Dayton before a potential matchup against Arizona in the semifinals. Regardless of a game with Arizona, the Huskies host the Wildcats in Storrs on Dec. 9.
"Maui will give a clear view of what you need to do to go deep into March," Calhoun said. "The kids will have a clear view of what kind of teams we need to beat."
Mouring's feeling that it's his time to take over is the result of Calhoun's creating an expectation with his returnees. Wane and Deng share the responsibility that it's simply their time.
"This is the first time that I'm in this position, but it's up to me to be out there for the freshmen," said Wane, who earned his fourth year of eligibility back after earning his degree in political science and is now pursuing a degree in French. "I've got to be a leader. Sometimes it will be up to me to take a big shot."
But Wane is still nowhere near the target that even Jake Voskuhl was last year. While El-Amin was teased for his weight, Voskuhl got chided for his floppy blond hair.
What can Wane get knocked for? Nothing. Deng? Not much, either.
Believe it or not, this era of the Huskies' identity might end up being that they don't necessarily have one. The Huskies are still developing their need for Calhoun's three ingredients for winning: toughness, talent and cohesiveness.
"It's a new era," Butler repeated. "People don't understand how good we are and talented we are. The talent is underrated. I hear, 'Seton Hall this, or Arizona that.' We're just hungry and need to prove it to the world."
El-Amin's catch phrase after winning the '99 title was the Huskies had "Shocked the world." Butler and these Huskies first have to introduce themselves to the world of college basketball before they can stun anyone.
When they do, you'll have to listen closely. Their actions will definitely speak louder than they do.
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com. | |
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