DENVER – On a team full of blue-collar players, Elijah Straughter's (Fresno, Calif./Clovis North) collar appears to be a distinct shade of navy.
 
The ultimate blue-collar guy.
 
"He's not afraid to go up and get a rebound in traffic," Metropolitan State University of Denver coach Michael Bahl said. "He's not afraid to get his nose dirty guarding the other team's best player, whoever that is. He's what we're looking for in all of our players, that mentality of 'Hey, coach, whatever you need me to do, I'm going to do it.'
 
"And he's one of the quietest, nicest kids you'll ever meet. He's a 'Yes, sir, no sir,' kind of kid. 'Coach, whatever you need me to do, I'm willing to do it.' We have a lot of kids like that."
 
Straughter, a 6-foot-7 redshirt freshman, can – and has – guarded players at every position on the floor, from point guard to center, this season. On Jan. 19, for instance, in a double-overtime loss to New Mexico Highlands, he had the primary responsibility against high-scoring forward Gerad Davis for most of the game, then was matched up with point guard Raquan Mitchell down the stretch. Both players are averaging more than 20 points per game.
 
"I take pride in my defense," Straughter said. "That's just the way I am."
 
When he isn't on the perimeter tracking smaller and, theoretically, quicker players, Straughter can bang inside with bigger players, and he can protect the rim well enough that guards driving the lane are like lambs being led to Straughter.
 
Though he's scoring a modest 4.8 points per game, Straughter leads all Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference freshmen in rebounds (6.7 per game) and blocked shots (1.0 per game).
  
It's easy to understand Straughter's defensive versatility.
 
He tries to play defensively like Kawhi Leonard, the two-time NBA defensive player of the year who, at 6-7 can also guard multiple positions. And he's spent plenty of time studying the defensive work of the legendary Bill Russell, the five-time NBA most valuable player known for his defensive work for the Boston Celtics' dynasty in the 1960s.
 
"They say a good rebounder gets one every four minutes," Bahl said. "And he's averaging about six and half rebounds a game and playing about 25 minutes a game – so that's a high-level rebounder. He's really doing a lot of good things that we're asking him to do, and his ability to guard is what I love the most. He has length and size and athleticism. Those players are hard to find.
 
"He's physically fit, and just a different type of athlete. He's definitely someone we're going to rely on in the future, as well as right now, to be that defensive stopper for us."
 
Straughter was a two-time all-conference player in high school at Clovis North in Fresno, Calif., and he was named the defensive player of the year by the Fresno Bee. But his offensive statistics were relatively modest – 13.3 points per game as a senior – even though he also averaged 9.3 rebounds, 3.3 blocks and 2.3 steals.
 
"He was underrecruited," Bahl said. "I think people shied away because he wasn't someone who scored 25 points a game. But in our program, he's a perfect fit.
 
"We saw something with his athletic ability that he could have an immediate impact – just the way he rebounds and defends."
 
But, with a veteran team last season, Bahl and Straughter both thought it was best for him to redshirt.
 
"Before I came, I already had it in my mind that I wanted to redshirt," said Straughter, who turned down a preferred walk-on offer from Fresno State. "I wanted to get stronger, because I knew this is a different level than high school basketball. I wanted to work on my speed, my shooting and my ballhandling – everything I could to get better and try to take my game to another level. At times it was tough watching, because I felt like there were times I could have been out there helping the team. But in my mind, I knew it was the right thing to do."
 
Offensively, Straughter is good around the rim and slashing to the basket. He's shooting 54.3 percent from the field. But, down the road, Bahl expects Straughter to grow into a role that includes more offensive production.
 
"I'm not where I want to be yet, but I know it's a process," Straughter said. "I'm putting the extra work in and I know it will pay off. Coach Bahl believes in me. My teammates believe in me. It's going to come."