UCONN GUARD EL-AMIN ARRESTED

HARTFORD - Khalid El-Amin, who helped the University of Connecticut to its
first national basketball championship just 15 days ago, was arrested
Tuesday and charged with possession of marijuana.

The sophomore point guard was picked up on a Hartford street and charged
with possession of less than 4 ounces of marijuana, as well as a traffic
infraction, police said.

El-Amin was hustled out of a police substation in the city's North End, just
after 6 p.m., and taken to the main police station where he was booked and
released on a written promise to appear in Hartford Community Court later
this month.

Another UConn star, junior Richard Hamilton, was with El-Amin when he was
arrested, a police spokesman said.

Hamilton, a first-team All-America, was not charged. But members of the
Statewide Narcotics Task Force, who made the arrest, impounded the
late-model red Cadillac in which the UConn stars were found. Police would
not say to whom the car is registered.

A source said the car was stopped when it ran a red light in the North End
of the city. El-Amin was reportedly driving the car.

About a dozen teen-agers had gathered at the substation on news of the
arrest. They cheered as El-Amin eluded reporters and dove into the backseat
of the waiting cruiser.

Richard Johnson, an attorney who represented El-Amin at the arrest, said the
baskeball player would have no comment.

El-Amin led the Huskies (36-2) to a 77-74 victory over top-ranked Duke in
the national championship game March 29. It was the school's first trip to
the Final Four.

El-Amin's arrest came one day after Minneapolis North High School in
Minnesota retired his jersey. El-Amin graduated from North in 1997 after
leading the Polars to three consecutive state high school basketball
championships.

Tim Tolokan, the UConn associate director of athletics/communications, found
out about El-Amin's arrest when contacted by the Register early Tuesday
evening. Tolokan said the university would have no immediate comment.

El-Amin averaged 13.8 points, 3.8 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game for the
Huskies this past season. He has scored 1,090 points in his two-year career.

El-Amin averaged 14 points, 5.1 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game in the
NCAA tournament, earning all-tournament team honors. He was also a
second-team all-Big East selection and was named the Big East Rookie of the
Year and the conference's tournament Most Outstanding Player as a freshman.

El-Amin was the vocal leader of the Huskies thoughout the championship
season and appeared on "Late Night with David Letterman" last Friday.

Last week El-Amin announced he would return for his junior season at UConn.
However, on ESPN's SportsCenter late Monday evening, he appeared to be
wavering in that decision. He told the network that he was "leaning" toward
returning to UConn next season, which suggested that his decision may not be
final.

The UConn team will be honored Saturday with a parade through downtown Hartford.

Hamilton is thought to be leaning toward forgoing his senior year to enter
the NBA draft. He is waiting to make the decision after Saturday's parade
and will make the announcement as early as Monday.

UConn coach Jim Calhoun was not available for comment.

Register reporters Sean O'Rourke and Dave Solomon contributed to this story