Manhattan College’s Kevin Laue isn’t a typical center. At 6-foot-11, Laue runs the floor with purpose and grace. With his right hand he can easily palm a basketball, and he has a knack for swatting away opponent’s shots. Night in and night out, he displays maturity beyond his years and an unparalleled work ethic. And he does it all with one hand.
Although the sophomore didn’t feature in the Jaspers first game of the season, a 75-70 win against New Jersey Institute of Technology on Saturday, he will be waiting for his chance when the Quakers visit Manhattan tonight.
When he was born, Laue’s mother’s umbilical cord was wrapped around both his neck and left arm. Though the cord cut off circulation to his arm, the arm's position kept him from dying.
“The doctor said he wasn’t crying and the cord was wrapped around his neck,” said Jodi Jarnagin, Kevin’s mother. “I just started praying, ‘Let him be okay, let him be alive,’ and then I heard him cry.”
Growing up, Laue was expected to live a normal life, which meant completing daily responsibilities on his own. In first grade, Jarnagin promised to take Kevin and his best friend to Chuck E. Cheese’s if the friend could help Kevin learn how to tie his shoes.
“He always tried to minimize his differences and learn to adapt to what everyone else does,” Jarnagin said. “He is stubborn and determined enough to not let anything get in his way. The biggest hurdle he has had to overcome is being told he can’t do something.”
As a child, Laue played football, baseball and soccer. When he began to play basketball in sixth grade, he received even more negative feedback. After being cut from his seventh grade travel team, he used the next summer to build his skills.
On the court Laue has learned to adapt to playing with one arm. On defense he uses his nub, as he calls what remains of his left arm, to pressure defenders and his right arm to block passing lanes. On offense Laue is adept at using his left upper arm to catch.
“I don’t even think about shooting anymore,” Laue told SportsFocus.
In his junior year of high school, Laue was highlighted in Sports Illustrated as “the most exciting player in basketball.” However Laue broke his leg as a senior, which scared away many college coaches.
After graduating from Amador Valley High School, Laue enrolled at Fork Union Military Academy — a prep school that has churned out 150 Division I players — in the hopes of attracting attention from college programs.
“You’d get a triple-double or whatever and coaches would come out and tell you good game, then recruit the guy you played against,” Laue said. “I heard I was a risk, but nobody said that to my face.”
At Fork Union, Laue averaged 10 points and five rebounds per game and garnered interest from Manhattan coach Barry Rohrssen. Laue would soon find a new home.
“Everything he said and did was exactly right, which is how he lives his life,” Rohrssen, who is in his fifth year of coaching the Jaspers, said in an interview with Fanhouse.com.
“Heart means something in this game and it means something in this world. If you have it, it can take you far.”
The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.
DonatePlease note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.