Rarely does a kid come along with size, athleticism and skill. Renardo Sidney is one of the rare exceptions. He's big enough to dominate on the block, skilled enough to handle the ball in the open court against smaller defenders and he possesses the touch to pull-up and shoot the NBA three with ease.
I jumped at a chance to coach this young phenom when he was a rising freshman by accepting a coaching position on the staff of the MBA Magic Elite. A Select Summer team started by Renardo Sidney Sr. We got off to a great start by making the final four in the first two tournaments that we entered. Our next stop was the prestigous Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions, Renardo's first game in the Dean Dome resulted in a 21pt, 13rebound, 11assist performance. Mr Gibbons was courtside to take in the action, there were also representatives from every major scouting service and shoe company. The word got out quickly and Renardo went from being a virtually unknown 8th grader to the #1 player in the class of 2009.
His newfound sucess quickly came to an end when the MHSAA forced him to sit out his freshman year at Piney Woods Country Life School because of eligibility issues. To avoid any surprises for his sophomore year, Renardo Sr moved his family to Lakewood, CA where Renardo Jr played for the defending state champs, Lakewood Artesia. He helped his team secure back to back championships and earned the newcomer of the year award in doing so. Renardo is anticipating his junior season being just as rewarding, however, it will be at LA powerhouse, Fairfax, instead of Lakewood Artesia.
He has been working extra hard the last few weeks to prepare himself for the Elite 24 game at the Rucker. This game will be held August 24, tipoff is at 7pm. He is looking to put the exclamation point on his #1 ranking in the class of '09.
Young Big Man Shoots Like A Little Guy
This article was written by Stephen Danley, and published in the NY Times.
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