We usually look into basketball busts years after their specific draft passes. But for ex-Mississippi State forward Renardo Sidney, it seems like squandered talent is a foregone conclusion just one day before the 2012 draft.
The fifth-best power forward at his position, according to Rivals.com in 2009, Sidney battled weight and attitude problems during his career at MSU, where he left early in March. He averaged career bests 14.2 points and 7.6 rebounds in 2010-11 before falling to 9.7 and 5.2 last season.
It doesn’t look good for Sidney, who likely won’t be drafted Thursday. He doesn’t have an agent and The Clarion-Ledger reported that he had a “head-scratching” workout with the New Jersey Nets in May. Sidney’s reported 22.4% body fat doesn’t help.
“This whole NBA process is really tough and with me dropping two agents, it really doesn’t look good for me right now,” Sidney said, according to the newspaper. “Like you said, it sounds like I’m lost. I can admit that I’m lost. I’m just trying to find my way back and see on Thursday what happens.”
We feel bad for Sidney, a former McDonald’s All-American with lots of promise, but much of it is his own fault. On the bright side, there’s still time for him to get into shape and change the course of his career.
