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Stansbury doesn’t talk Sidney, focuses on sunshine, lollipops

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Rick Stansbury wishes everyone would just move on already. Sorry, Rick. You created this mess. Now you get to swim in it.

The Mississippi State coach refused to talk about his reinstatement of forward Renardo Sidney (suspended two games for fighting with a teammate during the Diamond Head Classic on Dec. 24), the transfer of reserve Elgin bailey (Sidney’s fight mate) and how he settled on the suspension.

Instead, he wants to talk about how nice the weather was at the tournament.

“We enjoyed Hawaii,” Stansbury said during a Wednesday press conference. “You ain’t going to write all that crap, I know.”

“You know I’m not going to talk no more about all that. You know that. Enough’s been said about it, and we’ll move on past all that. Now, I don’t worry about things I can’t control, so hey.”

Makes sense. Why would anyone want to discuss the latest with Sidney, the redshirt freshman who sat out all of last season due to an NCAA investigation, was suspended for the first nine games of this season after said investigation determined he received impermissible benefits, played one game, got another suspension for violating unspecified team rules and finally (takes a breath) got into the fight with Bailey?

That’s not interesting at all…

So he focused on the impending return of guard Dee Bost and how the Bulldogs (8-6) have their SEC opener against Alabama on Saturday. He thinks they’re a team with renewed focus and a different outlook.

Besides, Stansbury’s optimistic Sidney’s ready to finally become the player who leads the Bulldogs into the NCAA tournament.

“You hope any time someone experiences what he’s been through, it makes him a better person first,” Stansbury said. “A better person first. That’s the No. 1 thing. After that, you hope it translates into becoming a better basketball player.”

Better hope so, Rick. You’ve tied yourself to Sidney’s success more than ever. If he starts sinking, you might too.

Want more? I’m also on Twitter @BeyndArcMMiller.