FUMA’s one-handed standout seeks Division I opportunity

Seven months ago, The Times-Dispatch profiled Kevin Laue, a 6-11, 232-pound Californian who is spending a postgraduate year at Fork Union Military Academy. The center came to FUMA, as many players do, for basketball development and exposure that can lead to a Division I opportunity. But Laue is different from hundreds who have followed that path. Because of a birth defect, his left arm extends to just below the elbow. An update on Laue's quest:

FORK UNION Kevin Laue is frustrated.

Not with Fork Union Military Academy. His time here has been highly beneficial to his growth as a man and player, Laue said. Not by Fletcher Arritt, who recently completed his 39th season as FUMA's postgraduate coach. Laue is sure Arritt greatly assisted his hoops improvement and is doing all he can to help place this uncommon post man at a Division I school.

Laue (rhymes with wow) is frustrated by Division I coaches who view him as a huge gamble because he has only one hand, and have chosen, to this point, not to offer scholarships.

"I guess I'm a fun player to watch but a risky player to take. That's what I've heard," he said. "It's the most frustrating thing ever. Every single guy I talk to said I'd go to UCLA if I had two arms, every coach I've talked to."

Almost all of the serious interest in Laue has come from Division II and Division III schools, which also frustrates Arritt. He said Division I coaches "probably have the same attitude I had last year."

Last spring, Arritt was reluctant to save a slot on his roster for this one-handed center recommended by a former FUMA player. Laue visited FUMA, demonstrated his basketball ability, and Arritt quickly became a believer.

In September, Arritt projected Laue as a lowto mid-major Division I player. The coach hasn't changed his stance after a 30-game season in which Laue averaged about 10 points and 5 rebounds. Arritt typically uses each of his players approximately 20 minutes per game.

"I don't even think it's a gamble, to be honest with you," Arritt said of Laue's ability translating to the Division I level. "I just think somebody has got to have the courage to do it."

Division I coaches are prohibited by NCAA rules from commenting on recruitable players such as Laue. Kevin Keatts coaches the postgraduate team at Hargrave Military Academy, which faced FUMA twice this season. "I think a lot of Division I coaches are missing the boat on this young man," Keatts said of Laue. "He is definitely a Division I player. He does more with one arm than a lot of kids do with two."

Laue is very athletic for a 6-11 player. His offensive game mostly involves jump-hooks and tips. His ballhandling is sufficient for an inside player. He used a prosthesis as a child but says it made him feel disabled rather than normal. Laue's defense makes him special.

"You saw what he does around the basket," Arritt said after Monday's FUMA scrimmage, attended by a half-dozen Division I coaches. "You can't go in there and get a shot against him. You can forget about that."

But Laue continues to fight what he calls "the arm thing." Pressure to win in Division I is so great that he believes coaches may be uncomfortable extending one of their 13 scholarships to a one-handed player.

"If I go to play on a team, [that coach's] job is to win games," he said. "If they lose games with me having one arm, it could be 'Why did you recruit a guy with one arm?' And even if I play well and they lose a game, 'Why do you have a guy with one arm on your team?'

"Publicity-wise, it might not be good for them."

Arritt believes it's just going to take the right coach to evaluate Laue and envision him in a system that accentuates his strengths. Laue tries to remain optimistic that before school ends, a Division I program will extend a scholarship offer. But he can't hide the frustration.

"Thirty-four days left here and I'm still clueless," Laue, a top-notch student, said of his college destination. "Maybe I should have just applied to schools and then walked on."

Contact John O'Connor at (804) 649-6233