STARKVILLE — Renardo Sidney once claimed to be “unstoppable” in the post.
“No one in the nation or the world,” Sidney proclaimed in December, could match him on the block.
University of Alabama forward JaMychal Green might have something to say in response.
Green guarded Sidney for most of the Crimson Tide”s 75-57 victory against the Bulldogs on Jan. 8 in Starkville. Sidney scored only two points and had five turnovers in the worst performance of his eight-game college career.
Green had 16 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocked shots that day, while front-court mate Tony Hines added 10 rebounds.
Together, they took advantage of Sidney”s lack of conditioning and experience to help Alabama pull away after it led by only one point at halftime.
Green hasn”t missed a beat since league play started and enters the rematch at 7 tonight (SEC Network) at Coleman Coliseum averaging 17.8 points and 2.4 blocked shots in the past five games.
Green”s athleticism and ability to make jump shots out to 18 feet hurt MSU in the second half of the first meeting when he scored 14 points.
By stepping away from the block — where Sidney contained him in the first half — Green extended the defense and forced Sidney or Wendell Lewis away from the basket.
“Probably stepping out and making as many as he did was the surprise,” MSU coach Rick Stansbury said. “We were probably more surprised we were able to guard him on the block. That was Sid”s first game, and we didn”t know what to expect, but on the block he did a pretty good job.”
MSU started league play using more zone defense to help Sidney and point guard Dee Bost conserve energy after returning from suspensions. In the past two games, MSU has transitioned to playing predominantly man-defense.
Sidney”s progress in dealing with ball screens has helped the switch to man come sooner, though Stansbury would like to see the center kick the habit of picking up cheap fouls.
Stansbury indicated Monday he wouldn”t switch Sidney if Green steps out on the perimeter tonight.
Bost said the Bulldogs used forward Arnett Moultrie, who isn”t eligible following his transfer from the University of Texas at El Paso, to simulate Green”s range in practice.
“We want to play man, and we”re gonna play a lot of it whether he is what he is,” Stansbury said of Sidney. “But the better he gets, the better we become in man.”
Green”s offense has been key in Alabama”s 5-1 start in SEC play, but his defense has been just as important.
Paired with Hines, whom Stansbury noted for making Alabama”s “tough plays,” Green has helped the Crimson Tide to the top of most league defensive categories. Alabama leads the league with a 36-percent rate in field goal percentage defense, in scoring defense (56.8 points per game), and steals.
“I think our guys understand our defense gives us a chance to win,” Alabama coach Anthony Grant said. “For us to have a chance against the caliber of competition we play, we”ll have to continue to play well defensively.”
Though Sidney”s pre-debut statement before he played a college game might have been brash, he has flashed the talent to back it up.
Sidney is averaging 13.6 points per game and is shooting better than 50 percent from the floor. He has shown touch and power in the paint, but Stansbury said he remains “a work in progress.”
“I thought he was a little bit conscious of doing some things better (against Vanderbilt),” Stansbury said.
Sidney hasn”t been available to the media, per Stansbury”s decision, following a public fight in Hawaii with former teammate Elgin Bailey.
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