Etiwanda introduced to top junior center in the country
Tuesday night I saw the best high school basketball player I’ve ever seen.
So did Etiwanda coach Dave Kleckner.
Los Angeles Fairfax center Renardo Sidney showed why he is widely considered the top junior center prospect in the country in a 66-54 win over Etiwanda in the second round of the CIF Division I state tournament.
The 6-foot-10, 235-pounder was absolutely unguardable.
Kleckner said as much.
Sidney was dangerous from 3-point range, so you can imagine how difficult the powerful teenager was to stop in the lane.
He scored 21 points on 10-for-16 shooting, had 11 rebounds and five blocks.
Etiwanda did about as well against him as could have been expected, even pulled within four with 4:09 left before a game-sealing Fairfax run.
Sidney sat for a couple of extended stretches, allowing Etiwanda back in the game several times. But when he wanted to dominate, he did.
For all the physical attributes, one of the most impressive things about him was his efficiency. Considering his range and ability to shoot over anybody, I’m not sure there is a shot that qualifies as bad for this kid. But he never forced up anything or hoarded the ball. He looked like he probably could have scored 50, but maybe that was just because he picked his spots well.
It wasn’t just his quickness that struck me, but his body control. As he was careening towards the basket during a second-quarter drive on the baseline, he managed to lay the ball ever so softly off the glass even as converging defenders attempted to swat it off the backboard.
Then, of course, there were the flashy plays. A thunderous one-handed put-back dunk in the fourth quarter topped the list. Not 15 seconds into the game he knocked down a fading 15 footer with a hand in his face. He drained a pull-up 3-pointer a few minutes later. Half of the six shots he missed were attempted put-backs that he eventually did put back (Did I mention his efficiency?).
Kleckner first attempted to guard Sidney with strong, athletic 6-5 post man Christian Katuala but Sidney was too big for him, if not just as quick. Kleckner then threw 6-8, 245-pound Perris Blackwell at Sidney, whom he promptly took to the perimeter.
HoopScoopOnline.com ranks Sidney the No. 5 junior in the nation.
In 2006 he moved from Mississippi to Lakewood Artesia, where he won a Division III California state title as a sophomore. He transferred to Fairfax in September and took the Lions (27-5) to the City Section championship game where they lost to Woodland Hills Taft.
Here is an L.A. Times column about him by Kurt Streeter, who was in attendance at the City Section Title game.