As if he won’t be hassled enough...
As if he won’t be hassled enough in St. Petersburg, Fla., because of his weight and propensity to talk trash, Connecticut guard Khalid El-Amin will be coming to the Final Four with a regional final chip on his shoulder.
He picked up two personal fouls in the first four minutes of Connecticut’s 67-62 victory over Gonzaga on Saturday in Phoenix and was immediately benched for all but the last few seconds of the half, openly disappointing his teammates.
“I walk over and see him on the bench and I’m like, ‘What, you got two fouls?’ ” Richard Hamilton said.
When El-Amin returned, he threw up nothing but bricks, missing all 12 of his shots, including six from three-point range.
Thus, Connecticut became that rare team to win an NCAA tournament game without making a three-point shot (0 for 9).
“I think it was great for the team to see that we could win without Khalid,” Connecticut Coach Jim Calhoun said. “I think it was even better for Khalid.”
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