Khalid El-Amin: the dough boy who paid off

Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun won his first national title with a beefy, cocky sophomore point guard from Minnesota named Khalid El-Amin...El-Amin scored the last four points for the Huskies 77-74 upset of highly touted Duke in 1999...

During his career in the Big East, El-Amin was an easy target for opposing crowds to taunt him with the chant "fatboy" or "doughboy"...that did not detract him as he finished with career numbers of 15.3 PPG and 4.4 APG...

El-Amin was drafted in the second round by the Chicago Bulls and played only 50 games in the NBA over two seasons...he found more success in the European Leagues...in 2006, he was named the MVP for the regular season and playoffs as he led Azovmash Mariupol of the Ukraine Superleague to the league championship...

For more about El-Amin, check out his website - Khalid El-Amin Website

Landon Turner: what could have been

In the last game that he ever played, former Indiana star junior forward Landon Turner helped the Hoosiers beat North Carolina to win the national title...that happened in April 1981...four months later, Turner was paralyzed from the chest down after being involved in a one-car accident...

Turner was highly recruited out of Indianapolis and chose to play at Indiana because of head coach Bob Knight...during his freshman year, the Hoosiers won the NIT...two years later they took the national title...

But the championship year was a rocky road for Turner who often found himself in Knight's "doghouse"...late in the season, everything finally clicked for Turner as he began hustling and understanding what Knight demanded from the team...once inserted back into the starting lineup, the Hoosiers never lost another game that season...

Turner was named MVP in the semi-final win over LSU, in which he was the leading scorer and second in rebounds...he was named to the All-Tournament Team

Since his accident, Turner completed his degree at Indiana...Turner is now a motivational speaker...he does not let his confinement to a wheelchair deter him from anything...

In a 2006 article on ESPN.com, Turner is featured during hunting season in which he annually gets a gobbler...Landon Turner - The hunter

Monte Towe: Small but mighty

In 1974, the N.C. State Wolfpack put a brief, yet small dent in the UCLA dynasty led by head coach John Wooden...the Wolfpack upset the defending champion Bruins 80-77 in the national semi-finals...two days later N.C. State won the National Title by beating Marquette 76-64...

N.C. State had superstar David Thompson, but the engine of the team was a 5'7" point guard from Converse, Indiana named Monte Towe...during his time at N.C. State (1972-74), Towe was named to the 1974 All-Tournament team and was also an All-ACC selection...

The Wolfpack posted a 79-7 overall record during Towe's three-year career, including a 57-1 stretch from 1972-73 (27-0) and 1973-74 (30-1)...the Wolfpack won two ACC titles (1973 and 1974), and Towe did not lose a conference game until his senior season...

Because dunking was illegal in that era, Towe and Thompson are credited with "inventing" the alley-oop...Towe would throw the ball to Thompson while he was in the air and Thompson would gently drop the ball in the basket...

Towe was drafted by the Denver Nuggets in the third round of the 1975 ABA draft and by the Atlanta Hawks in the fourth round of the 1975 NBA Draft...he joined Thompson in Denver...

After his playing career, Towe got into coaching as he served as Norm Sloan's assistant at N.C. State (1979-80) and then at Florida (1981-89)...Towe later served as general manager and coach in the Global Basketball Association...

In 2000, Towe landed his first legitimate head basketball coaching job at the University of New Orleans....he compiled a 70-78 record over five seasons before leaving to become associate head coach at North Carolina State under current head coach Sidney Lowe (photo, above)...

All-Stiles Points Team

In 1982, CBS Sports took over broadcasting the NCAA Tournament from NBC...over the last 28 years there have been some remarkable players who have been part of college basketball...below is my All-Stiles Points college basketball team since 1982...

If I was comprising a team, these are the players who I would want...to make it fair, I have excluded Michael Jordan because everyone would select him...this team is built to win games and not be a squad of former Players of the Year...it doesn't matter what these players did in the NBA, if they even made an NBA team...I want a team that has an emphasis on scoring from the three point line, but decent enough to have an inside presence in case the jumpers were not falling...the one prerequisite is that they had to play at least two years of college basketball...

Starting Five
Small forward - Lenny Bias, Maryland - Bias (photo above) was a Jordan-like player who could score from anywhere on the floor...

Power forward - Christian Laettner, Duke - he may have been the most hated college player during his playing days, but Laettner was like money in the bank...he was the best clutch player that I have seen in college basketball...

Center - Patrick Ewing, Georgetown - the face of the Big East Conference...Ewing was a defensive stopper who led the Hoyas to the championship game three times, winning once...Georgetown has never been back to the finals since Ewing left...

Point guard - Bobby Hurley, Duke - best pure point guard I have ever seen in college basketball - period!!!...a floor general and a leader...

Shooting guard - Chris Mullin, St. John's - (photo, right) the best pure shooter in the Big East Conference during its heydays of the 1980s...he led St. John's to the Final Four in 1985...

Bench
Shooting forward - Glen Rice, Michigan - I need a forward who is a deadly pure outside shooter and Rice fits that mold...his role would be to shoot, shoot, and shoot from the outside...

Power forward - Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina - Psycho would be my Kurt Rambis-like player who would do all the dirty work yet still be a scoring threat...

Center/Forward - Wayman Tisdale, Oklahoma - Tisdale (photo, right) died last year of cancer...he was not a spectacular player in the NBA...but he was a great college player who could pull down rebounds and play either the 4 or 5 spot...

Point guard - Steve Alford, Indiana - if Hurley was to get injured, I would need another floor general...no one better than Mr. Alford...plus he may have been the best free throw shooter of his era...

Shooting guard - Stephen Curry, Davidson - his performance in the NCAA tournament two years was the most amazing I have seen in years...

Specialist

Three point specialist - Gerry McNamara, Syracuse - don't laugh at this selection...just ask Kansas how explosive G-Money can be from the three point arc...and who can forget his clutch shooting in Syracuse's memorable run to the Big East title in 2006...I could have went with J.J Redick, but G-Money is more my type of player because he has heart...

Defensive stopper - Gene Smith, Georgetown - another selection that will have people scratching their head...Smith was a guard for the Hoyas title teams during the Ewing-era...he was the best defensive guard ever...he would set up opponents and get them to commit a charge...he made it look so easy...I don't need any more scorers with this team...so that is why I went with defense...