NEW YORK — Kevin Laue knows what would happen if a college basketball team took a chance on him and he didn't pan out. Fans would wonder what the coach was thinking in using a scholarship on a center missing his left hand.

"It's a business," the 6-foot-10 Laue said. "Their jobs are all on the line. It's much safer to take a two-handed guy my size that got beat by me."

But Manhattan College's Barry Rohrssen figures coaches take chances all the time. He'd rather take one on Laue, whose left arm ends just past the elbow. So last week, the Division I school signed the center.

"We give opportunities to players who don't appreciate them, who take them for granted," Rohrssen said. "For all the right reasons, Kevin deserves this chance, and he should make the most of this opportunity."

A native of Northern California, Laue played a postgraduate season for Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia this year, hoping to impress college recruiters. Coach Fletcher Arritt said Laue averaged about 10 points and five rebounds, competing against many Division I prospects.

When Laue was born the circulation in his left arm was cut off by the umbilical cord.