Sir'Dom Pointer: The southpaw-turned-righty

You may have noticed that when Sir`Dominic Pointer drives to the basket, he often prefers to go to his defender's left. There have been multiple instances throughout his freshman season where Pointer has finished beautifully with his "off" hand.

At 4 o'clock on February 24th, almost four months into the season, we all found out that it may not just be an untraceable skill.

Pointer, when asked about a specific play from Monday's nights game against DePaul in which he threw a bounce pass with his left hand rather than his right, reiterated that it was nothing new. In fact, it was quite the norm until Sir'Dom was about seven years-old.

"I can pass with both hands because I used to be left-handed," Pointer remarked. Say what? You used to be left-handed? Is that even possible?

More, below the fold.

After you watch someone play basketball in person 20 times, you might assume that his dominant hand would be a given. It is listed in his official player profiles, after all.

That's not how things twirl in Sir'Dom's world. In Sir'Dom's world, you can switch the hand with which you shoot sans any second thought. But we've been around him quite a bit throughout his inaugural campaign in Queens. Truthfully, a response of shock would be slightly misplaced.

"I know it sounds crazy, but, yeah, I used to be left-handed," he said on Friday afternoon. "I used to shoot and do everything with my left hand."

No, Pointer's jump shot has never been a Van Gogh replica. He isn't Ray Allen by any means. Until now, that was just the way it was. Not everybody is born with impeccable shooting mechanics. But it makes more sense now.

"I broke my hand when I was younger," he said. "I just decided I was going to switch over to my right hand. But that is why most of my plays go to the left, if you haven't noticed."

Pointer has always come off as an aloof personality. If there is one player that would inadvertently have something like this squeak out in mid-conversation, it would be Sir'Dom. There isn't much that fazes him. When he scores 15 points, he has a smile on his face. When he scores 2, there's that same smile. Well, when St. John's wins of course.

Sir'Dom is mysterious in the sense that no one can figure him out. It starts with his unusual first name and flows all the way through to his core. He's either incredibly simple or exaggeratedly complex. Whatever you choose to decide, he's not going to care all too much.

"Dom makes up a lot of things," Phil Greene joked about Pointer's personality. "You never know what's true and what isn't. You just never know."

Well, at least us media members aren't the only ones who sometimes find themselves scratching their heads. Maybe this is why he dunks with both hands so well.

The freshman forward joins Michael Beasley, Elton "Ice Box" Chamberlain, and Inigo Montoya in an exclusive group of ambidexterity.

"I switched over because I was still playing with a cast on and I couldn't shoot with my left. But I still write and do everything else with my left," Pointer continued to defend himself. "Most defenders would consider me a right-handed player, until they see me go left."

It may be Pointer's aloof personality (and his now-apparent ambidexterity) that aides his game. He is fearless - to attack defenders, guard them, or face the consequences of failure.

Pointer's teammates may not have known of his natural left-handedness, but you can bet that coach Mike Dunlap did. "We also have a red shirt in Jamal Branch who also used to be left-handed earlier in his career," he mentioned.

"Usually, just on a coaching observation, when you have a guy that used his left hand earlier in his career, they'll shoot with either hand and look confused. Neither does, so we're lucky."

Pointer, and both of his hands, are set to face a surprising Notre Dame Fighting Irish squad who has won 9 straight Big East games on Saturday at Madison Square Garden.

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