MSU Signs Sidney… Trouble Brewing?

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Renardo Sidney is a heckuva basketball prospect.  He’s a McDonald’s All-American, 6’10, 260 pounds.  He’s from Mississippi but has played high school ball in LA since 2006.

He averaged 23 points and 10 rebounds per game last year.

And he’s signed with Mississippi State.

There’s only one problem — several schools wanted no part of the big man because of “off-the-court rumors” that might draw the NCAA’s interest.

Southern Cal, for example, had initially chased Sidney, but they backed off due to the on-going investigation into how much they cheated with Reggie Bush and OJ Mayo.

That didn’t bother Rick Stansbury.  “We are excited to have ‘Shug’ coming back home where his roots are.  It’s very obvious he brings a wealth of talent and versatility to our program.”

As for Sidney, it was about a return home — not a lack of choices — that led him to Starkville.  “I just had to realize, you know, I’m from Mississippi.  I’m from Jackson, Mississippi.  I’ve got a lot of people, a lot of family members down there that can actually see my play in person, you know, just to go back home and play in front of everybody, all my fans.”

How good is he?  Scout.com says, “There simply aren’t many talented guys with his skill set in college basketball.  Mix in his size and you’ve got a major matchup problem on the post and outside on the perimeter.”

But last November, a 6,000-word article in The New York Times referred to Sidney as a “prima donna.”

So, is this a gamble by Stansbury?  You bet.

But the idea of Sidney pairing with Jarvis Varnado (should he return… and he should) was apparently too good to pass up.

“We could win a national championship,” Sidney said yesterday.

True.  But MSU might also see a few NCAA investigators start snooping around, too.