Now, four days later, I might even be behind the curve, but I know I’ll be one of the first to publish an opinion such as this. I’m defending Renardo Sidney.
Yes, the former McDonald’s All-American who sat out his entire freshman year — and nine games of his sophomore year — for an NCAA mandated suspension, was suspended one game for a vague incident in practice and was suspended a third time for being caught on ESPN fighting with his teammate and team captain in the stands in Hawaii. Yeah, that guy.
This may sound weird coming from a skinny, 5’10” white kid who got cut from the eighth grade basketball team — just like Michael Jordan, mind you — but I can relate to Sidney.
Really, who can’t? We’ve all had rough patches.
When I was in fifth grade, there was a month when I got detention almost every week. Most of it was just dumb stuff and involved me having a short temper. Did my parents give up on me? No, and here I am, a couple months away from graduating with three degrees.
Here’s the deal: Sidney is a victim of expectations. He is the perfect example of why the world of recruiting is so backwards.
When I came to college, the only expectations anyone had for me were to graduate and do it in a timely fashion.
Sidney came in with the expectations of changing the game of college basketball, turning around the Mississippi State basketball program and going to the NBA as a top 10 pick. That’s hard to live up to.
Many will say, “Well, he could have lived up to that if he’d have just gotten into shape.”
Well, I’ll give it to you, the dude is not exactly a gym rat. I don’t blame him, though.
The culture of AAU basketball he grew up in told him he didn’t need to be. The constant presence of coaches, friends, family, agents, runners and the like, who told him the world was his on a platter, made him think he could do it on talent alone, and he’s got a ton of that.
When the average person looks back on mistakes made in college, it’s easy to say, “Oh, freshman year.” Well, Sidney did not get that luxury.
After not playing competitive basketball for nearly two straight years, he stepped straight into the starting lineup.
Want to hear something crazy? Lost among the constant barrage of writers, bloggers and tweeters trash-talking Sidney is the fact he’s averaging close to a double-double.
Sidney has scored 13.6 points per game, only a 3-pointer away from Dee Bost (16.5 ppg) whom MSU fans love, and rightfully so.
Sidney actually leads the team in rebounding, averaging 7.7 per game. He’s even a 73 percent free throw shooter.
In the last five games — all against SEC foes — Sidney is averaging 14 points and 10.8 rebounds. In two games against Ole Miss, Sidney averaged 23 points, and what makes Bulldogs happier than beating TSUN?
For comparison, let’s take a look at North Carolina freshman forward Harrison Barnes. He was a McDonald’s All-American, the consensus top player in his class — even Sidney wasn’t that — and voted by many across the country as the preseason pick for National Player of the Year. He stayed in shape, so his numbers should be much better than Sidney’s, right?
Barnes averages 13.4 points per game and 5.6 rebounds per game, both less than Sidney, and he got to play every game this season, including the pushovers in the non-conference schedule.
Want more numbers? Bulldog fans have been very pleased with the play of freshman guard Jalen Steele, who stepped into the starting lineup for Ravern Johnson after his Twitter outburst. Steele? 5.6 ppg and 1.5 rpg. Over the last five, he has averaged 7.4 and 2.
Yeah, Sidney has had his off-the-court issues, but he’s handled himself well since those, and what everyone calls him out for lately is what they call lackluster play on the court. The numbers don’t seem to back that up, particularly since he plays just under 26 minutes per game.
I guess this is what I’m getting at: cut the kid some slack and, if you’re a MSU fan, pray he comes back next year.
If you’ve seen him play, you know he has the potential to be a world-beater. You can’t expect him or anyone to get in shape mid-season. Give him this year and the offseason.
If he’s still out of shape next December — which I doubt he will be — well, then, I guess we can talk.
And let’s not even get into Sidney not talking to the media. If half the writers from here to Hawaii had been trash-writing you for the last three months, would you want to talk to them?
