Sign up or login to track your favorite teams

Sign Up for Bleacher Report

As a registered user you can subscribe to your favorite teams, post comments, write your own articles, and much more.

You must register in order for that functionality to work!







Validating sign up form ...

Bleacher Report articles are written by fans like you

Do you want to cover your favorite sports, teams, and leagues?

Processing writing preferences ...

Great, , you're signed up!

i.e. Big 10, LeBron James, USC Football

Selected Tags:

Logging in ...

In the world that we live in today, 89 percent of the population is right handed and 11 percent is left-handed. I am one of those 11 percent...

College Basketball's All Left-Handed Team

by Sean Stancill (Senior Writer)

28

4,496 reads

Sports

March 03, 2008


In the world that we live in today, 89 percent of the population is right handed and 11 percent is left-handed. I am one of those 11 percent.

As part of the minority and an avid fan of college basketball, I feel that I have a civic responsibility to promote and honor the left-hander’s out there that are sweeping the nation with their fabulous play. Therefore, I have composed the All-left handed team.

 

1. PG Tyrese Rice Boston College

The skilled young assassin out of Boston College is one of the best PG’s in the country and maybe the best pure scorer among them all. He almost beat North Carolina thanks to his 46 point outburst Saturday, when he had 34 at the half.

Rice is a deadly three-point shooter and a good penetrator. Rice averages 21.4 PPG, 4.8 APG, and 3.3 RPG.

 

2. PG/SG Sean Singletary Virginia

One of the best PG’s in the nation along with Rice, Singletary is a flat out scorer and not afraid to let his shot loose at anytime and anywhere on the floor. Sean averages 19.8 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 4.0 APG.

One of the best rebounders at the guard position, he’s had 5+ rebounds in 10 games this season and 10 rebound performance against VA tech. Singletary had 41 points in a loss against Miami, Saturday.

 

3. SG/SF James Harden Arizona State

What can I say about this kid? Taking a program that was terrible last year losing 15 straight at one point to a possible NCAA tournament berth. He has wins over then ranked No. 8 Stanford, Arizona, and Oregon that helped boost his rookie campaign.

He also defeated rookie and fellow Pac-10 Freshman of the Year candidate O.J. Mayo and the USC Trojans on Sunday, leading the way with 24 points.

 

4. G/PF J.P. Prince Tennessee

At 6-7 he’s not really a guard, he’s a forward. The University of Arizona transfer has been instrumental to the program’s No. 1 ranking, short lived or not, and has been an energizer for the Volunteers off the bench.

Prince brings great defense and a solid offensive game ranging from everywhere inside the three-point line. He’s a starter anywhere else in the country. Prince’s all over the floor mentality reminds me of a young Tayshaun Prince, who happens to be his cousin.

 

5. Michael Beasley Kansas State

The Player of the Year pretty much summarizes this kid. Although I don’t like his play, I can’t ignore his left handed roots. Michael has eleven 30+ point games and has compiled double digit rebounding in all but two games this season!

With Beasley leading the Kansas State charge, he helped the Wildcats upset Kansas in January and is averaging 26.7 PPG and 12.6 RPG. Beasley also broke Carmelo Anthony’s record of 22 double-doubles as of freshman during his tremendous first year.

Track this Article on My B/R
Flag This Article
Share This Article

28 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment

  1. Michael Whittenberg about 1 year ago

    Correction: Tyrese Rice and BC played Carolina, not Duke.

    Edit Comment Cancel

    Reply
    Great Comment (
    0
    )

  2. Michael Whittenberg about 1 year ago

    What about Drew Neitsel from Michigan State. Left handed, and one of the best shooters in the country.

    Edit Comment Cancel

    Reply
    Great Comment (
    0
    )

  3. Sean Stancill about 1 year ago

    Fine, Neitsel can receive honorable mention but the list of left handers are so short it wouldn't make sense to mention only 1 or 2 people. I composed the best and Drew's not better than any of my guards.

    Edit Comment Cancel

    Reply
    Great Comment (
    0
    )

  4. Sean Stancill about 1 year ago

    And I said Tyrese Rice

    Edit Comment Cancel

    Reply
    Great Comment (
    0
    )

  5. Anonymous about 1 year ago

    Sean Singletary is not a lefty. Watch him shoot:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YJQu4yQ6Pc

    Here are some lefties that could've easily been on this list:

    Drew Neitzel - Michigan St.
    Jamont Gordon - Miss. St.
    Cliff Hammonds - Clemson
    Joey Dorsey - Memphis
    Curtis Jerrells - Baylor
    Scott Martin - Purdue
    DeAndre Jordan - Texas A&M
    Martin Zeno - Texas Tech
    Daniel Hackett - USC

    Edit Comment Cancel

    Reply
    Great Comment (
    0
    )

  6. Anonymous about 1 year ago

    Another thing--I don't understand how Prince has been DETRIMENTAL to Tennessee's #1 ranking. Are you putting the full blame of the Vandy loss on Prince?

    Courtesy of dictionary.com:
    det·ri·men·tal (dět'rə-měn'tl)
    adj. Causing damage or harm; injurious.

    Prince has clearly been a great asset for this team, and has the potential at times to take over games. He was a PG in high school, so he has good vision and passing ability, but he's really more of an SF/Wingman guy. He's not a great shooter, but is an excellent slasher. And he can't really play with his back to the basket, so I wouldn't call him a PF.

    That being said, I would argue that Prince belongs on the All-Lefty Team bench. He's way to inconsistent, and shoots a miserable 50% from the FT line. Yes, Prince was clutch and MVP against Memphis and Xavier, but outside of those two games, he hasn't played that well. He's a young guy with loads of potential, but until he consistently plays with a team mentality, I don't think you could start him over 3/4 of the guys on my list in the post above.

    Edit Comment Cancel

    Reply
    Great Comment (
    0
    )

  7. Sean Stancill about 1 year ago

    Excuse me I got my words confused, I menat instrumental.

    Edit Comment Cancel

    Reply
    Great Comment (
    0
    )

    • Zander Freund about 1 year ago

      Just went ahead and fixed this for you Sean.

      When you catch things like this in the future, you can fix them yourself just by opening the article and clicking the big orange "Edit this Article" button on the right hand side of the screen. Revise it as you see fit and them click "Submit Revisions," and the changes will be saved.

      Edit Comment Cancel

      Reply
      Great Comment (
      0
      )

  8. Barton Whittle about 1 year ago

    Watch the youtube video I posted. You have to fast forward to about 1:15 before anything gets going. Singletary shoots the ball with his right hand. That makes him a righty in my book.

    I guess there's the possibility that you are half correct, and he writes with a pen with his left hand. I have no idea. I also haven't seen whatever link or special you are talking about on ESPN or CBS.

    I apologize for being really negative and critical of your article here though. I actually enjoyed it and thought the All-Lefty Team thing was pretty innovative. I'll do a little research and post my team.

    Edit Comment Cancel

    Reply
    Great Comment (
    0
    )

    • Zander Freund about 1 year ago

      To be fair, in that video it looks as if he kinda shoots with both hands.

      In slo mo, it's clear that Singletary is a righty (or at least shoots righty) but you could see how somebody might get confused. It's not as if he has a Larry Bird style shot where it's blatantly obvious which hand is leading the charge, you know?

      Edit Comment Cancel

      Reply
      Great Comment (
      0
      )

  9. Barton Whittle about 1 year ago

    Sorry for that double post. I decided to register because I put too much time into this not to at least have my name by it.

    2008 All-Lefty Team:

    STARTERS:

    PG Tyrese Rice - Boston College
    6-1 190 Junior (21.4 PPG, 4.8 APG, 3.3 RPG)

    SG James Harden - Arizona State
    6-4 215 Freshman (17.9 PPG, 2.8 APG, 5.1 RPG)

    SF Jamont Gordon - Miss. St.
    6-4 230 Junior (17.1 PPG, 4.8 APG, 6.2 RPG)

    PF Michael Beasley - Kansas State
    6-10 235 Freshman (26.7 PPG, 1.3 APG, 12.6 RPG)

    C Anthony Randolph - LSU
    6-11 220 Freshman (14.9 PPG, 1.3 APG, 8.6 RPG)

    BENCH:

    PG Mike Green - Butler
    6-1 184 Senior (14.5 PPG, 5.1 APG, 6.4 RPG)

    SG Curtis Jerrells - Baylor
    6-1 200 Junior (15.3 PPG, 3.8 APG, 3.6 RPG)

    SF Martin Zeno - Texas Tech
    6-5 208 Senior (15.9 PPG, 3.0 APG, 4.5 RPG)

    PF Derrick Brown - Xavier
    6-8 225 Sophomore (10.6 PPG, 1.8 APG, 6.5 RPG)

    C Darren Fells - UC Irvine
    6-7 255 Senior (14.4 PPG, 2.1 APG, 6.8 RPG)

    MANAGERS:

    PG Drew Neitzel - Michigan St.
    6-0 185 Senior (13.5 PPG, 4.2 APG, 2.7 RPG)

    SG Leonard Houston - Drake
    6-3 175 Senior (14.2 PPG, 1.8 APG, 4.3 RPG)

    PF John Williamson - Cincinnati
    6-6 225 Senior (11.5 PPG, 0.7 APG, 6.2 RPG)

    *BONUS
    Lefties to watch next year:

    PF Greg Monroe - Committed to Georgetown
    6-10 224 H.S. Senior (Rivals.com: #1 OVR, #1 PF)

    PG Brandon Jennings - Committed to Arizona
    6-0 170 H.S. Senior (Rivasl.com: #8 OVR, #3 PG)

    Edit Comment Cancel

    Reply
    Great Comment (
    0
    )

  10. Ben Allaire about 1 year ago

    Great idea for an article!

    Being a lefty myself, I'm always interested to know who else is.

    I'm not saying I'm an expert on all things Singletary, but I do have a column here on the bleacher report almost solely devoted to Virginia basketball (and I stayed at Holiday inn express?). Singletary is not left-handed. He finishes very well with both hands around the basket. This great, great clip of him hitting a short fade-away to beat Duke might help.

    http://youtube.com/watch?v=eUXLiiiBgMY

    Edit Comment Cancel

    Reply
    Great Comment (
    0
    )

  11. Jeff Allen about 1 year ago

    James Harden isn't a Pac-10 Freshman of the Year candidate. That award has long been wrapped up by Kevin Love, the Pac-10 Player of the Year. But Harden is certainly a very good Pac-10 freshman. Probably one of the top 5 freshmen in the Pac-10.

    Edit Comment Cancel

    Reply
    Great Comment (
    0
    )

  12. Jay Ingles about 1 year ago

    Clemson lefties: Cliff Hammonds, KC Rivers, Trevor Booker. Take your pick. All three are better than J.P. Prince. Sean Singletary is NOT left-handed.

    Edit Comment Cancel

    Reply
    Great Comment (
    0
    )

  13. Jay Ingles about 1 year ago

    Clemson lefties: Cliff Hammonds, KC Rivers, Trevor Booker. Take your pick. All three are much better than J.P. Prince. Sean Singletary is NOT left-handed.

    Edit Comment Cancel

    Reply
    Great Comment (
    0
    )

    • Sean Stancill about 1 year ago

      No J.P. Prince is clearly better than your Clemson kids, just imagine if Prince started? And Singletary is left handed.

      Edit Comment Cancel

      Reply
      Great Comment (
      0
      )

  14. Dan Church about 1 year ago

    Michael Beasley is actually right handed, he shoots with both...

    Edit Comment Cancel

    Reply
    Great Comment (
    0
    )

  15. Sean Stancill about 1 year ago

    So he qualifys as a left hander

    Edit Comment Cancel

    Reply
    Great Comment (
    0
    )

  1. Tori Willis about 1 year ago

    as a lefty, gotta say I love it! I'm a little bitter about the whole Jp Prince episode from an Arizona standpoint.. but at the same time, what a good choice! At least he's on a team that's going to make it in the tournament.

    Ignore everyone who's saying people aren't lefties if they are shooting right- that has nothing to do with a true lefty anyway. I mean, it's related to the game of basketball, yes, but we think with the other side of our brain more dominantly. :) so they can shoot with whatever hand (probably both, in most cases) and that doesn't qualify them as a right-hander, just a right handed-shooter.

    Edit Comment Cancel

    Reply
    Great Comment (
    0
    )

    • Jeff Allen about 1 year ago

      Using that logic, shouldn't everyone be eligible for this team as long as they don't play basketball with their left arm tied behind their back? Everyone occasionally dribbles with their left hand. Everyone is capable of making left-handed layups. If that's the logic we're going with here, why isn't Tyler Hansbrough on the list? He's the frontrunner for NPOY and I've seen him make left-handed layups.

      If you take jumpshots right-handed, you're not a lefty.

      Edit Comment Cancel

      Reply
      Great Comment (
      0
      )

    • Brad Griffith about 1 year ago

      I have to agree with Tori on this one. If a person is left-handed and plays basketball right-handed that's even more impressive to me.

      Tori, I am sorry that Prince left Arizona, but as Tennessee grad and fan I am very happy to have him in a Volunteer uniform this season. He pretty much won the Memphis game in the second half. Let's see if he keeps it up tonight in Gainesville.

      Edit Comment Cancel

      Reply
      Great Comment (
      0
      )

    • Tori Willis about 1 year ago

      I think why there is so much confusion is because people are seeing a left hander or right hander as how they execute plays on the court. Handedness is so much more than that- go look it up and you'll see how deeply psychological the whole thing is intertwined in the brain. Sure, this article isn't about left brains and right brains, but I definitely think it plays a part as to how athletes think, thus affecting their game.

      Baseball is the huge example here..

      Anyway, Brad.. I'm not selfish at all and definitely think Prince is in his castle (hahah) now. He wasn't getting playing time, so kudos for him for making the best possible career move. I just wish some hotshot benchwarmer off Duke or UNC came to play for Arizona or something..

      Edit Comment Cancel

      Reply
      Great Comment (
      0
      )

    • Brad Griffith about 1 year ago

      Tori, I like Prince a lot. He has helped make the Vols more explosive offenseively and has even played backup point guard some when Howell has been in a slump. But couldn't you have taught him how to shoot three's before he left? Just kidding. Anyway, I'm really getting psyched for the Duke/UNC game tomorrow night.

      Edit Comment Cancel

      Reply
      Great Comment (
      0
      )

  2. Sean Stancill about 1 year ago

    The players on the team were comprised because they're primarily left-handed, by shooting and dribbling standards. Hansbrough is neither, he dribbles and shoots with his left on occasion just like all righties in College Basketball.

    Edit Comment Cancel

    Reply
    Great Comment (
    0
    )

  3. Jeff Allen about 1 year ago

    You obviously have no sarcasm meter. I know Hanbrough's not a lefty, but neither is Singletary. That's what we've been telling you all along.

    Sean Singletary's dominant hand is his right. He shoots a right handed jump shot and dribbles right handed. Like any good point guard, he's certainly adept and using both hands to dribble and make layups, but he's certainly not a lefty. Watch his game on ESPN tonight, and then take him off your list.

    Please tell me what you still don't understand about this and I'll do my best to explain it again.

    Edit Comment Cancel

    Reply
    Great Comment (
    0
    )

Leave a Comment

  • You must register to post a comment.

    • Want to write for Bleacher Report

    We are a community of fans who write about sports. And we're growing.

    Learn More and Sign Up »

    Certain photos copyright © 2009 by Getty Images.
    Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Getty Images is strictly prohibited.