A hint of hope has been found in the Renardo Sidney saga.

On Friday, Mississippi State filed a response to the NCAA's statement of facts regarding its recently completed amateurism evaluation of Sidney, the 6-foot-10 Bulldog freshman. That has given head coach Rick Stansbury reason to believe that a resolution might finally come after eight-plus months of NCAA scrutiny.

"Hopefully the end's probably in sight a little bit more than it has been," Stansbury said Monday. "Hopefully, we can hear something by the end of this week. That's my optimistic thinking. But it's definitely a lot closer than it was."

Sidney's attorney, Don Jackson, sounded a more cautionary tone.

"I am cautiously optimistic that there could be some activity this week," Jackson said via text message. "However, this entire process has moved at a snail's place."

Jackson said that in formulating the school's response, he worked with MSU compliance director Bracky Brett and Michael Glazier, the noted sports attorney who's being retained by State for this case. The statement of facts was received by MSU on Jan. 8.

"The Eligibility Center should respond shortly," Jackson said.

If MSU and the NCAA cannot agree on all the investigation's findings, then the case would go before the NCAA's Amateurism Fact-Finding Committee, which is made up of 16 people from various Division I institutions.

The SEC representative is Valerie Sheley, the senior associate athletics director and senior woman administrator at South Carolina.

The NCAA's probe of Sidney began after a Los Angeles Times article raised questions about his family's finances, particularly the Sidneys' ability to afford expensive homes in the L.A. area. Sidney, originally from Jackson, spent his final three years of high school in California.

He has missed all 18 of the No. 23-ranked Bulldogs' games and has only been doing individual work while his teammates practice.

Contact Brad Locke at 678-1571 or brad.locke@djournal.com.