Can someone tell me why Renaldo Sidney's...

[Seymore Cox]

recruiting story came up on the soonerscoop.com ticker. Odd because he's not even in the OU database anymore.

 

[Sooner23]

RS
TG
TC
WW
TMG

I like it.

 

[mizzOUstu702]

LA Times

Renardo Sidney won't play basketball at USC

Sources say the Fairfax High standout will not follow through on verbal commitment.

By Lance Pugmire
April 29, 2009
Renardo Sidney, the basketball All-American from L.A. Fairfax High who had orally committed his intent to accept a scholarship offer from USC, will not play for the Trojans.

Sources close to USC's program and the Sidney family say the school and player have ended the recruiting process.
Sidney, a 6-foot-11 power forward, visited Mississippi State last weekend and a source close to the family said the Sidneys and USC had agreed upon "a mutual parting of the ways." The source spoke on the condition of anonymity, having not received clearance from the family to be quoted publicly about the matter.

The split was confirmed about a week after it was learned that Sidney had achieved a passing SAT score, which, when factored in with grades in 16 core classes, is how an athlete acquires eligibility. The USC coaching staff had expected Sidney to officially sign soon after.

However, the source close to the Sidney family said school officials expressed concern about signing the player while an NCAA investigation into former USC stars Reggie Bush, a Heisman Trophy winner in football, and O.J. Mayo, a first-round NBA pick last year, was still open.

Sidney's father, Renardo Sr., "didn't want his son to be the scapegoat for those allegations," the source said without elaborating why that could happen. "Neither side wanted an impending investigation hanging over them."

A source familiar with the USC athletic program not permitted to publicly discuss recruiting details confirmed that the university is no longer interested in signing Sidney but did not say why.

Attempts to reach USC basketball Coach Tim Floyd and Athletic Director Mike Garrett through the university's sports information department were not successful.

Earlier this year, days before Sidney committed to USC at a Fairfax reception in which he opened a gift box to reveal a USC cap, UCLA stopped recruiting the player -- also for undisclosed reasons.

Asked if Mississippi State is the front-runner to sign Sidney, the source close to the family said the Bulldogs were "the only runner." Attempts to reach the Sidney family were unsuccessful.

Longtime shoe company figure Sonny Vaccaro, who coordinated Southland player Brandon Jennings' move to bypass a year of college in favor of a season as a professional in Europe and is helping San Diego high school player Jeremy Tyler explore a European season, said that option wasn't open to Sidney.

"I already told him he couldn't do it," Vaccaro said.

I'm not gonna hold my breath...but it certainly is interesting.

 

[JBaker]

To be honest, it sounds like there might be something up with this kid.
Maybe UCLA and USC were concerned about his supposed "amateur status" already being voided. They didn't want to get caught up in another Reggie/OJ situation. At least, that's the way it seems to me with teams suddenly stopping his recruitment.

If that's not true, I'd take him. But after the Orton and Dennis situations, which were actually realistic, I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Seymore Cox]

I read an article on Zagsblog yesterday when the family mentioned two mystery schools and it has been taken down. The soonerscoop ticker has been taken down too.

 

[datsooner10]

I read an article on Zagsblog yesterday when the family mentioned two mystery schools and it has been taken down. The soonerscoop ticker has been taken down too.

They mentioned two mystery schools but didn't name them?

 

[sooner333]

I wonder why the European option isn't open to him. That seems like a bad sign.

 

[Seymore Cox]

They mentioned two mystery schools but didn't name them?

They refuse to. One was probably Western Kentucky! LOL!

I wonder why the European option isn't open to him. That seems like a bad sign.

That would be a bad option. He needs a coach that's going to work on his game and conditioning.

 

[Seymore Cox]

Renardo Sidney signed with Mississippi State on Thursday.

The 6-foot-11, 250-pound Sidney, a native of Jackson, Miss., is rated the No. 5 power forward in the Class of 2009. He verbally committed to USC in February but never signed a Letter of Intent.

“It’s good to be coming back home,” said Sidney, who averaged 23.4 points and 10.6 rebounds this past season at Los Angeles Fairfax High. “A lot of my family hasn’t been able to see me play the last three years and it will be good to be around them again. Mississippi State is a great school with a great program, and I”m coming in to help them win a national championship and build a bond with my new teammates.”

Not everyday you see two schools in USC and UCLA rescind offers to a McDonalds AA. Good luck to this kid.

 

[sooner333]

So, is Rick Stansberry keeping his job because gifts keep falling in his lap? First Lawrence Roberts, now this.

 

[Seymore Cox]

So, is Rick Stansberry keeping his job because gifts keep falling in his lap? First Lawrence Roberts, now this.

Please don't mention Lawrence Roberts. Probably the biggest recruiting gaffe in the Sampson Era when he left Baylor.

 

[sooner333]

Please don't mention Lawrence Roberts. Probably the biggest recruiting gaffe in the Sampson Era when he left Baylor.

Jimmy Tobias saved Stansberry's job then