On the day Renardo Sidney announced his college choice, the gymnasium floor at Los Angeles Fairfax High was filled with 13 tables decorated in white linen with rose centerpieces, where more than 100 family members and friends dined on a catered meal of chicken and ribs.
"Back in the South, this is what we do," Sidney's mother, Patricia, said proudly. "We celebrate big."
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday, May 06, 2009 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 4 National Desk 1 inches; 41 words Type of Material: Correction
Basketball star: A story in Monday's Section A about USC and UCLA withdrawing scholarship offers for Fairfax High basketball prodigy Renardo Sidney Jr. incorrectly identified Renardo Sidney Sr. as the player's stepfather. The family's attorney says he is the biological father.
The Sidney family had left Mississippi for the Los Angeles area to further his basketball career, and the move had paid off.
It was Feb. 22, late in the high school basketball season, and Sidney was putting the wraps on a senior campaign in which he averaged 24.8 points and 11.2 rebounds and was the No. 2-rated power forward in the nation by Scout.com.
His college pick was about to surge as well. USC was gearing up a late-season run that would result in a third consecutive 20-win season, one it would cap with a Pacific 10 Conference tournament championship and a strong showing in the NCAA tournament.
Some thought the lavish affair -- the caterer estimated the total cost at about $2,000 -- was a bit over the top, but supporters didn't care. "I think it's warranted," said one, Chris Rivers, an executive with the apparel company Reebok.
With plenty of theatrical flair, Sidney signaled his choice by dramatically opening a box that contained -- surprise! -- a USC baseball cap.
The family even took to flying a USC banner outside their rented home.
But a little more than two months later, the player is headed elsewhere.
USC, as UCLA had before, rescinded its scholarship offer, leaving one of the nation's top talents temporarily without a team.
On Thursday, Sidney, 19, signed a letter of intent with Mississippi State days after visiting Starkville, Miss. The Bulldogs were, at best, his third choice -- but in the end, perhaps his only choice. When, after Sidney's visit, a family spokesman was asked whether Mississippi State was the front-runner for his services, the reply came that the Bulldogs were "the only runner."
A rare turn of events involving a 6-foot-10 prospect with a powerful build and uncommon shooting range for a big man.
"It's highly unusual for both of those schools to abandon their recruitment of a player of that caliber and potential," said George Raveling, a former college coach -- at USC and elsewhere -- who works the Southern California area for Nike. "They must know something the rest of us don't know."
