ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Patrick Dennehy left New Mexico last year with a tarnished reputation -- an athlete with considerable potential and a temper to match.

The image that stuck when the 6-foot-10, 230-pound center transferred to Baylor in the spring of 2002 was of a player who had walked out on his teammates near the end of a close game.

But Dennehy also showed flashes of brilliance while at the University of New Mexico, and some of those closest to him say he didn't deserve the bad rap he got. They also say that he had matured considerably while at Baylor.

Dennehy, who has been missing for three weeks and is feared dead, played two seasons with the Lobos. At times during his sophomore season, he appeared to be a rising talent -- 17 rebounds and 10 points in one early season game against Alcorn State. But those moments were overshadowed by his tantrums and clashes with teammates.

It all came to a head on the afternoon of Feb. 9, 2002. In the waning minutes of a game at the Air Force Academy, Dennehy couldn't handle a pass from teammate Eric Chatfield. Chatfield got in Dennehy's face and Dennehy countered by arguing on the court with Chatfield and another teammate, Tim Lightfoot.

During an ensuing timeout, Dennehy shoved another teammate, kicked over a chair, left for the locker room and didn't return. New Mexico lost 47-44.

Two months later, Dennehy was kicked off the team by newly hired coach Ritchie McKay, who replaced Fran Fraschilla at the end of that tumultuous season. McKay dismissed Dennehy from the team after he walked out of an off-season workout.

According to court documents released this week that cited an unidentified informant, Dennehy may have been killed in Waco during an argument with former Baylor teammate Carlton Dotson. The documents state that Dotson told a cousin he shot Dennehy in the head as the two argued while firing guns. Dotson has not been arrested or charged, and the investigation continued Wednesday.

Such a scenario would seem to crystalize the idea that Dennehy had not changed his tempermental nature, but some of those closest to Dennehy say he didn't deserve the rap.

Former New Mexico guard Senque Carey has known Dennehy since Dennehy was in middle school. Carey grew up in East Palo Alto, Calif., Dennehy in Santa Clara. Both attended nearby St. Francis High School and were teammates at New Mexico in 2001-02.

"That was a very selfish (New Mexico) team. We had a whole lot of people dividing the house,'' Carey said. "You have a guy like Pat who wears his emotions on his shoulders. He was young at the time, immature.''

Carey said what happened at Air Force was part of Dennehy's and the team's frustration with a turmoil-filled season.

Early in the year Chatfield refused to play in the second half in a game against West Virginia and point guard Marlon Parmer quit the team in January after a run-in with Fraschilla that followed a loss to Utah.

"We were struggling, everything was unraveling. People wanted Fran out,'' Carey said of the season in which New Mexico finished 16-14, culminated with a 34-point loss to Minnesota in the NIT.

Dennehy's girlfriend, Jessica De La Rosa, said Dennehy, who averaged 10.6 points and 7.5 rebounds a game his final year with the Lobos, went through a very difficult sophomore season.

"At the time he was feeling overwhelmed with a lot,'' De La Rosa said.

Dennehy's coach at St. Francis, Steve Filios, said Dennehy never displayed in high school the tempermental behavior that surfaced at New Mexico. In fact, Filios said, Dennehy was an inspirational and instructional role model after tearing a knee ligament prior to his senior season.

"He showed a whole new side to Patrick,'' Filios said during a telephone interview from his home in California. ``He could break down what the other team was doing and he had a great way of talking to his teammates at halftime and after a game in a positive way.''

Off the court, says Filios, Dennehy was "`a renassiance man.''

"He was an accomplished poet, he loved music and talking to people,'' Filios said.

Carey and Filios said they were surprised to hear that a court affidavit states Dennehy was killed while he and Dotson were target practicing in the Waco area. Involvement with guns, both said, was not Dennehy's thing.

"When he was in high school, he never expressed any interest in that area,'' Filios said.

"If he did go purchase one, it's because he needed it,'' Carey said. "He felt threatened.''

Carey last saw Dennehy in late May, when Dennehy and Dotson were in Albuquerque to play in the New Mexico Games. He said Dennehy was happy and looking forward to the coming year at Baylor after sitting out last season.

"I could tell Pat had really matured,'' Carey said. "He was talking about his team and how good they were going to be. Pat's head was on straight when he came back from Baylor.''

Brian O'Neill, an assistant to Baylor head coach Dave Bliss the past four seasons, said Dennehy is a player who doesn't point fingers and expects the same treatment from teammates.

"Anytime he got mildly upset, and it was a rare case, it was when a teammate would tell him how to play,'' O'Neill said. "That didn't sit well with him because he wasn't the type of person who would tell a teammate how to play.''

O'Neill, who left Bliss' program in April, said there is plenty of upside to Dennehy's game.

"He's something we were missing,'' O'Neill said. ``He's a legit 6-10, he's strong and a quick jumper. I thought he was going to fit in fine in our conference.''

Carey said basketball has always been the focal point of Dennehy's life.

"He made it to college through basketball,'' Carey said. "Pat wanted success, money, to live comfortable. He wanted his family to be happy, to not need anything.''