Kevin Laue takes his shot: an 18-year-old's disability hasn't stopped him from becoming a college basketball prospect.

• Author: Himmelsbach, Adam
• Position: SPORTS

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The fact that 18-year-old Kevin Laue's left arm ends at the elbow hasn't kept him on the sidelines. Playing for Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia, the 6-foot-10-inch college basketball prospect from California palms the ball with his right hand, and uses his short left arm as a clamp after catching passes. When he catches passes on the perimeter, Laue holds the ball away from his head, the way a water polo player readies a shot; on defense, he uses his nub to maintain contact with his opponent s back.

When Laue was born, the umbilical cord was wrapped twice around his neck, with his left arm wedged in between. The arm's circulation was cut off, severely stunting its growth, but its position had allowed blood to reach his brain.

"I think I got pretty lucky," says Laue. "My arm saved my life." Laue's parents didn't coddle him. They bought him sneakers with laces and pants with buttons. And they signed him up for Little League, where he swung the bat like a polo mallet. When classmates asked about his arm, Lane said it had been devoured by a shark while he was surfing in Hawaii.

Laue made the varsity basketball team as a junior at Amador Valley High School in Pleasanton, Calif. But a broken leg cost him most of his...