Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Renardo Sidney declares for the NBA

Renardo Sidney

Mississippi State’s Renardo Sidney (1) dunks during the first half of the their NCAA college basketball game with Mississippi in Starkville, Miss., Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012. (AP Photo Jim Lytle)

AP

Renardo Sidney, one of the most hyped athletes in recent memory, is ending his brief and temultuous career at Mississippi State. He announced today that he has signed with an agent and will putting his name into the NBA draft.

“I appreciate Mississippi State giving me an opportunity to play, but I feel it’s time for me to move on,” Sidney said in an official statement through the school.

Sidney’s prep career is a cautionary tale for high school stars. He and his family left Mississippi and moved to LA, because, as a 9th grader, he had “outgrown” Jackson.

His first year in college was lost as the NCAA investigated his high school days. He was suspended for the first nine games of the next year due to the results of the investigation, and ordered to pay back nearly $12,000 in improper benefits. Then came two suspensions, including one for fighting in Hawaii with a teammate.

On the court, his considerable talents were hidden in an overweight body.

Now he’s moving on to play professionally. Sidney, who says his weight has ballooned to 310 pounds, hopes to lose 30 pounds before the draft.