ESPN Article

["Jaims" <jaims@impactnet.com>]

El-Amin taking game to Chicago

  By Andy Katz
ESPN.com

Give Connecticut junior point guard Khalid El-Amin credit for being one of
the few underclassmen to figure out that showing up to the Chicago pre-draft
camp can secure your status as a first-round pick in the NBA draft.

Instead of blowing off the camp this week at Chicago's Moody Bible Institute
like most of the early entrants, El-Amin will be on the court when the camp
begins with drills Tuesday night and concludes with the final round of games
Friday night.


Khalid El-Amin is out to prove he's worthy of being a first-round pick.


"He cherishes the opportunity to compete," Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun
said. "He knows he's not a lock and that he's somewhere between 18 and 40.
He made the decision to go play in the games. That's what he does best. Some
guys are good at drills in workouts but he's far and away the best at games
once the ball is thrown up."


El-Amin is one of the top seven point guards available in the draft. But his
stock slid when more underclassmen declared, such as Missouri's Keyon
Dooling, St. John's Erick Barkley, Michigan's Jamal Crawford and SMU's Jeryl
Sasser.


But El-Amin has a chance to showcase his skills, or at least prove that he's
more worthy of a first-round pick by outplaying the senior points in
Chicago. He may also get a chance to play against at Crawford if he goes
through with his plans to play in Chicago. Sasser could have been another
challenge for El-Amin, but an ankle injury will keep him in Dallas. But
El-Amin is ready, no matter what.


"He told me he's in the best shape of his life," Calhoun said. "What the
scouts need to see is him make the great plays that he's made over a long
period of time. He can shoot the basketball well and he's one of the best
point guards in the country."


But heading into the camp, El-Amin has to prove to teams in search of a
point guard (Orlando, Chicago, Los Angeles Clippers, Detroit, Sacramento,
Philadelphia and Toronto come to mind) that he's worthy of being a
first-round pick. The consensus going into Chicago has El-Amin behind
Michigan State senior Mateen Cleaves, Barkley, Dooling, Crawford, Hofstra
senior Craig Claxton and Sasser (should he stay in past the June 21
withdrawal deadline). Indiana senior A.J. Guyton and Ohio State senior
Scoonie Penn are vying for first-round status, too.


If El-Amin can show scouts that he's in shape, has a decent shot, a
hard-nosed work ethic and tenacity on defense, he can move up into the first
round. Crawford has to prove he can play both point and shooting guard and
that his decision-making isn't a question. Sasser's ballhandling at the
point for a 6-foot-7 player has to be an asset, not a hindrance.

Ohio State junior guard Michael Redd, Temple junior forward Mark Karcher,
Florida freshman forward Donnell Harvey, Providence junior center Karim
Shabazz, Indian Hills (CC) guard Cory Hightower and center Ernest Brown,
Alabama sophomore Schea Cotton and Life University (NAIA) guard Jimmie
Hunter are the other underclassmen expected to participate in Chicago.


Harvey goes in to the camp with the best shot to be a first-round pick out
of this group because of his size and hunger for rebounding. A strong
showing can lock up a late first-round slot. Karcher needs to prove he's a
consistent defender and a decent enough ballhandler to be taken in the
first.

"If he's goes there in great condition and shows everybody he can play
defense on the ball then he'll help himself," Temple assistant Dean
Demopoulos said. "He's got a long history of scoring and offensively there
shouldn't be any questions."

Demopoulos is under the impression that Karcher isn't just using this time
as a test of his draft status, and that he won't return to Temple.


Redd has already said he won't come back but he better shoot well in Chicago
or he'll fall into the second round.


Brown is a second-round pick who can hold on to that slot just by taking up
space and limiting his mistakes. Hightower is a scorer who needs to prove th
at he can do that against top-notch competition in Chicago to sneak into the
first round. Questions of health and consistency surround Cotton. Hunter
needs to prove he can score in the NBA just to get into the second round.
Shabazz doesn't appear to be ready for the NBA, but a breakout performance
could tantalize someone to take him in the second round. He's 7-2, which
alone makes him a palatable pick.


But plenty of other players are making mistakes by not participating in
Chicago.


Kentucky senior center Jamaal Magloire and Georgia Tech senior center Jason
Collier had a chance to sneak up into the late lottery with exceptional
performances. Instead, they will probably fall to the latter part of the
first round without a recent gauge on their play. Auburn senior center
Mamadou N'diaye could have locked up a lottery spot if he came to Chicago
and shined.


Dooling has been advised not to play and will take his chances on being a
middle to late first-round pick. Utah senior forward Hanno Möttölä will only
attend the physicals to prove to scouts that his elbow and wrist problems
from last season have healed.


Nigerian forward Olumide Oyedeji could still go as high as No. 12 with
Dallas but he has chosen not to play this week. Greek center Iakovos
Tsakalidis is expected to play and could lock up a lottery spot. So, too,
could Greek forward Antonio Fotsis. NBA teams are buzzing about Fotsis
lately, and if he plays well in Chicago, he could go anywhere from No. 12 to
29.


Two of the players making the biggest mistake by not showing up are UCLA
sophomore JaRon Rush and freshman Jason Kapono. Both players are marginal
first-round picks and could have secured positions had they played well in
Chicago. Instead, they will rely on their potential and private workouts to
land in the first round.


While the majority of underclassmen are convinced they will go in the first
round regardless of showing up in Chicago, a number of players could sneak
past them with strong showings. Players like Louisiana-Monroe's Mike Smith,
the MVP of the Portsmouth Invitational, St. Bonaventure's Caswell Cyrus,
Arizona State's Eddie House, Penn State's Jarrett Stephens or Stanford's
Mark Madsen all have a chance.


The draft camp ends Friday night with physicals conducted Saturday through
Monday for the campers and the higher-profile players who arrive late.

Jaims