[Buckskin86]

Fairfax center Sidney brings complete set of skills
The transfer from Artesia is a big man who can dunk, dribble well and shoot from the outside. He changes the dynamics in City Section.
November 14, 2007


At 6 feet 10, 235 pounds, with the ability to dribble like a point guard, dunk as if he were Shaquille O'Neal and shoot three-pointers with relative ease, Renardo Sidney is no ordinary high school basketball player.

He arrived in the Southland in the summer of 2006 from Mississippi, enrolled as a sophomore at Lakewood Artesia and led the Pioneers to the state Division III championship.

In September, he transferred to Los Angeles Fairfax, the defending City Section and state Division I champion. Harvey Kitani, entering his 27th season as coach of the Lions, is quickly discovering he has never had a player as talented as Sidney.

"What's amazing about the guy is he has a lot of skills," Kitani said. "I'm impressed with the fact he has a pretty complete game."

USC Coach Tim Floyd has zeroed in on Sidney as an important recruiting target. How else to explain Floyd's showing up for a meaningless junior college basketball game this month in which Sidney happened to be sitting in the bleachers? When Sidney left at halftime, so did Floyd.

Sidney turns 18 on Dec. 6, making him a man among boys. And there's another oddity about him -- he wears only size 15 shoes.

"I got little feet for a big dude," he said.