JACKSON — With a powerful 6-foot-10 frame, soft hands, and ample athleticism, Renardo Sidney was regarded as one of the nation”s top men”s basketball recruits when Mississippi State signed him in 2009.
That hype might turn out to be true. But as the big man proved Wednesday night he remains a work in progress.
Making his long-awaited debut after missing the first 45 games of his career due to an NCAA investigation and subsequent suspension, the sophomore scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds in Mississippi State”s 101-76 exhibition victory against Belhaven at Mississippi Coliseum.
Sidney will make his official debut at 7 p.m. Saturday against Virginia Tech in the Battle at Atlantis at Paradise Island, Bahamas.
“Renardo had a lot of fatigue,” MSU coach Rick Stansbury said. “He will have to get in better shape if we are going to use him a lot. However, he showed a lot of good things tonight.”
At times, he looked dominant, with an array of smooth post moves. But questions remain about his shot selection and conditioning. He made 4 of 9 shots in 15 minutes, leaving in the second half twice because of leg cramps.
Ravern Johnson led the Bulldogs, who were playing their fifth contest in five days, with 29 points. Johnson missed the team”s victory Tuesday against Alabama State serving a one-game suspension for missing too many classes.
Dee Bost, who is ineligible while serving a nine-game suspension after failing to withdraw from the NBA draft before the NCAA”s deadline last summer, scored 26 points. He”s eligible to return Jan. 8 — which will be MSU”s first Southeastern Conference game against the University of Alabama.
Rob Wallace scored 31 points for the NAIA Blazers.
“Give credit to Belhaven,” Stansbury said. “We weren”t emotionally into the game early. After a couple of shots fell, we got into a rhythm. We had good offensive production from several players in the game.”
The Bulldogs started quickly in the game”s final half. A 3-pointer by Johnson 3-pointer ran the team”s lead to 62-45 with 15 minutes, 54 seconds left.
The Blazers twice closed within nine. A 3-pointer by Wallace cut the deficit to 67-58 with 11:37 remaining. But MSU used a 14-5 run to remove all doubt.
By his own admission, Sidney is still out of shape. He”s been doing P90X workout routines with Stansbury in the past few weeks to try and shed some unwanted weight, but still tips the scales at about 275 pounds — 10 pounds above his target weight.
MSU scheduled the exhibition so Sidney could have a practice game before becoming eligible.
Sidney”s availability, coupled with Bost”s return next month, give the Bulldogs hope that they can compete for the SEC”s Western Division title and make a run at the NCAA tournament.
The NCAA ruled last March that Sidney had to repay $11,800 in improper benefits and sit out the remainder of the 2010 season and nine more games this season before he could play for the Bulldogs.
Sidney, regarded as an elite recruit in the 2009 class, grew up in Jackson but played at a Los Angeles high school. The NCAA ruled he received preferential treatment and improper benefits because of his talent, and that he also violated ethics rules by providing false or misleading statements.
Sidney has been attending MSU throughout the eligibility saga, but was only allowed to participate in practices until Wednesday.
The Bulldogs hit 39 of 72 shots from the field (54.2 percent), 15 of 33 shots from 3-point range (45.5 percent), and 8 of 13 shots from the free-throw line (61.5 percent). The Blazers hit 27 of 65 shots from the field (41.5 percent), 7 of 19 shots from 3-point range (36.8 percent), and 15 of 22 shots from the free-throw line (68.2 percent).
Kodi Augustus had 11 points, and Wendell Lewis had eight points and a team-high 11 rebounds for MSU. John Riek also added eight points and four rebounds in six minutes.
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