Byline: Scott Wolf scott.wolf@dailynews.com Staff Writer
USC appears to be the favorite to land Fairfax High School center Renardo Sidney after UCLA ended its interest in the marquee recruit because of concerns over his eligibility, according to sources.
Sidney went to the Galen Center on Wednesday night and visited with coach Tim Floyd, athletic director Mike Garrett and university counsel Steve Yamaguchi.
He was not believed to have committed at that time, sources said.
The 6-foot-9 forward is expected to announce his college choice on Sunday afternoon.
Mississippi State and Virginia also remain under consideration.
But the Trojans are the leader to get him. Sidney is a close friend of USC forward Taj Gibson and visits his apartment frequently. Sidney has also expressed to his friends a desire to play for the Trojans. His teammate, Fairfax guard Solomon Hill, has already committed to USC.
UCLA was considered a favorite for Sidney last week, but sources said the Bruins are no longer interested. Ironically, USC was considered the leader about three weeks ago before the Bruins rose to the forefront.
Wherever Sidney announces he will play, he would be expected to play for one season and then apply for the NBA draft.
Sidney still must take the Scholastic Aptitude Test before meeting NCAA Clearinghouse standards for eligibility.
No packages?
Floyd made an emotional statement Thursday night that his hiring of strength and conditioning coach Rudy Hackett was not a package deal to sign USC guard Daniel Hackett. ESPN is doing a story Sunday on prep point guard John Wall and package deals. Hackett's situation is supposed to be featured in the report.
Daniel Hackett is not on a basketball scholarship because his father works at the university, which means the Trojans essentially have an extra player on scholarship.
'All I can tell you is that bridge was crossed three years ago. We checked with the NCAA, Pac-10 and our compliance office,' Floyd said. 'We did nothing wrong. Rudy Hackett is more qualified than 95 percent of the assistant coaches in the country.
'If you are going to be the coach at USC, you better have a relationship with the coach of the Southern California All-Stars, Pat Barrett, who recommended (Hackett). I hired him and I'm very glad we did.'
Floyd did not address the fact USC also hired Dwayne Polee as its basketball operations director. Polee's son, Dwayne Jr., committed to USC two years ago and currently is a junior at Westchester High School.
The Trojans were also criticized for signing point guard Percy 'Romeo' Miller last year as an alleged package deal with freshman forward DeMar DeRozan.
Staff writer Brian Dohn contributed.
