Notes: El-Amin's injury spells the end for Connecticut

Khalid El-Amin severely sprained his ankle in the opening round. Whether or not El-Amin would play against Tennessee wasn't the question. <br><br>He vowed he would be in uniform for his team. Whether

Sunday, March 19th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Khalid El-Amin severely sprained his ankle in the opening round. Whether or not El-Amin would play against Tennessee wasn't the question.

He vowed he would be in uniform for his team. Whether his tender ankle could hold up against the Vols quick backcourt as well as the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center hardwood was the pressing concern.

The answer came less than five minutes into the game. And from the way it looked, the Huskies hopes of defending their national title were about as stable as El-Amin's ankle.

El-Amin was in the lineup for the opening tip, but it was obvious it would be difficult for him to play for an extended amount of time on the gimpy ankle.

During the first timeout at the 15-minute mark, he took himself out only to return to spot duty. He played just 13 total minutes (he averaged 32 during the season) and contributed a three-pointer, two rebounds and one assist. And the Huskies never had a chance. "I knew at warmups I would not be able to be effective," said El-Amin in a somber Huskies locker room afterward, still walking gingerly on the right ankle. "The doctors didn't want me to go out there, but I had to give it a shot. I couldn't just sit there in street clothes."

The Huskies were at a loss -- literally -- without their veteran floor leader. Connecticut looked in disarray offensively, forcing up hurried shots and relying on its one-on-one game too often. The dual freshman combo of Tony Robertson and Marcus Cox didn't equal a healthy El-Amin. They absorbed most of the minutes at point guard while El-Amin could only helplessly sit and watch UConn's ineptness. The Huskies had only four assists compared to 15 turnovers. "He makes us go left, right. He energizes us. He coaches on the floor," Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun said of El-Amin. "It's very difficult to ask people to step in for an All-American. Our offense struggled tremendously. But I'm not disappointed with either of those guys. They'll be good players."

Offensively, the Huskies could never get into a flow. On the defensive end, lightning-quick Vols guard Tony Harris presented another challenge. It didn't matter if Calhoun elected to play straight up man-to-man or zone, Harris was able to go for a Sunday drive right into the Huskies defense. And once he penetrated, Harris was either fouled or found open teammates for open looks. His 12 free throw attempts and 18 points were both game-highs.

"Khalid's a great player," Harris said. "I think you could kind of see that they were sometimes lost out there. He's their point guard and he basically runs the show for them."

Without El-Amin directing traffic for Connecticut, Tennessee was able to win consecutive NCAA Tournament games for the first time in school history. "They are not the same team without Khalid El-Amin. I feel bad for Khalid," Tennessee coach Jerry Green said. "He's a great point guard and you could see the difference with him not out there on the court. They're not the same team without him. I really feel for them and for him not being as healthy as they would have liked to been."

Said El-Amin: "It was disappointing. It hurts inside knowing you could've done more. Especially in this game, this was a very winnable game. (Losing on) a last-second shot wouldn't have hurt this much."