So it was Rick Stansbury's choice to send Renardo Sidney back to Houston?

It appears that, as we speculated back in July, Renardo Sidney's decision not to travel with his Mississippi State on their European tour was not actually his decision.

It was Rick Stansbury's. Check out the quotes Brandon Marcello of the Clarion-Ledger got from Rick Stansbury:

"Let's make sure to get this clear: it was not his decision to go to Houston," Stansbury said. "Everybody understand that. I made that decision, nobody else made that decision. I made the decision, OK? That’s where that is and, again, would I have liked for him to have been on the trip? I would have and it would have been good, but there are some things he had to handle that he hadn’t handled. Since then, he has."

"He fulfilled some obligations he had to have for the team," Stansbury said. "And he did that. So, we'll see if he keeps progressing. We all want to hope and believe he can."

If you've forgotten, Sidney returned to Houston to train -- both mentally and physically -- with John Lucas instead of hopping the pond with his teammates. Lucas, who has a history of substance abuse, has a reputation for being able to straighten out athletes that are trending in the wrong direction. The fact that Sidney made the effort -- whether forced or not -- to train with Lucas is a good sign; that he was in a place where that decision had to be made is not.

Honestly, there isn't much to say about the situation that I didn't write here or here other than this -- Stansbury now has some insurance in the form of Arnett Moultrie.

Moultrie, a transfer from UTEP that sat out last season, dominated during Mississippi State's trip through Europe, averaging almost 17 points and 12 boards. Granted, the competition wasn't exactly up to the level of the SEC, but the performance -- and the numbers (9.8 ppg and 6.7 rpg) he averaged as a sophomore at UTEP -- are enough that Stansbury can feel more comfortable if the worst-case scenario were to arise with Sidney.

Stansbury has a lot riding on Sidney's success -- his reputation, the reputation of his program and his university, his team's success, possibly his job. That's why he risked team chemistry by sending Sidney to better himself as an individual.

Stansbury will still be in trouble if the bottom falls out, but with Moultrie, the ground doesn't look quite as far away.