| Renaldo Woolridge | |
|---|---|
| College | Tennessee |
| Conference | SEC |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Position | Forward |
| Jersey # | 0 |
| Class | Senior |
| Nickname | Swiperboy |
| Height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
| Weight | 215 lb (98 kg) |
| Nationality | American |
| Born | March 22, 1990 Santa Monica, California |
| High school | Harvard-Westlake High School Studio City, Los Angeles |
Renaldo "Swiperboy" Woolridge (born March 22, 1990) is an American college basketball player for the University of Tennessee as well as being a well-known rapper. He was rated the No. 53 basketball player and the 11th-best small forward in the class of 2008.[1]
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Woolridge was born in Santa Monica, California and was raised by his two parents along with his brother (Zach) and sister (Tiana). As a kid he traveled all over the world because of his dad's (Orlando Woolridge) professional basketball career. At the age of eight Swiperboy's parents got a divorce which caused him and his siblings to move in with his mother. As he grew older Woolridge developed several talents including skate-boarding, gymnastics, basketball and music. Eventually he would focus more on his music and basketball talents. When he turned 10 he played for his first real basketball team and also wrote and performed his first song at his school talent show which helped him land a role to rap in a commercial for "Skippy Squeeze Stix" peanut butter. Even with Woolridge's outstanding talent in basketball he would not see any playing time until his junior year, it was then that he would take the spotlight and become one of the most highly-ranked small forwards in the country. After numerous offers from Division 1 schools Woolridge would ultimately accept a scholarship offer to play for the University of Tennessee. Although his basketball skills gained most of the attention his music career never stopped. Since his decision to play for the vols Swiperboy was in a rap group called "da 6-0",recorded a demo CD, and wrote lyrics on a regular basis. [2]
During Woolridge's freshman year with the Vols he played in 32 of 34 game including six starts. That season he averaged 8.8 minutes, 2.6 points and 1.3 rebounds per game; he also Shot 31 percent from the floor, 28 percent from 3-point range and 53 percent from the foul line. His best game of the season came in the Old Spice Classic against Siena, where he scored 14 points while going 3-for-6 from 3-point range and grabbed six rebounds. His game would improve in his sophomore season where he averaged 3.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 13 minutes per game. That year he played a big part in Tennessee's upset victory over top-ranked and previously unbeaten Kansas where he scored 14 points including four 3-pointers and managed 8 rebounds. During his junior year Woolridge would only play in eight games due to a foot injury that hindered his ability to play. Currently in his senior season Woolridge is healthy once again and expects to see significant playing time under new head coach Cuonzo Martin who took over for Bruce Pearl after his firing last spring. [3]
Before Woolridge enrolled in college, he recorded a team anthem for his future team called "Baller Vol" which gained a ton of attention as he released it to the internet, the song got so much attention that CBS Sports even wrote a story about it. It was during this time that he then transitioned to "The Answer aka Swiperboy" which would eventually just become "Swiperboy" or "Swiperboy AKA SB. His talent for representing the school became so popular that he was asked to be a part of current Kansas City Chiefs player Eric Berry's heisman campaign. The song and music video became such a hit that it was played at four of the home football games (in front of 104,000 people each game). That year Swiperboy's popularity grew tremendously as he became featured on many interviews and stories, and even a feature on ABC's "Race to March Madness". Since then he has recorded seven mixtapes, produced multiple music videos, and appeared in numerous concerts. Swiperboy has even founded his own independent record label called "Swiperboy Entertainment".[4]On may 2nd,2011 Swiperboy released a song titled "USA Troops (Thank You)" about the killing of Osama Bin Laden.Swiperboy gained much media attention getting stories from NBC,CBS,ESPN,Aol.com,etc. On August 8, 2011 Swiperboy announced his decision to end his music career when he posted online that his up-coming mixtape "Zazzzle" will be his last. He later cited his reason for quitting when he stated "In all honesty I feel extremely under appreciated when it comes to the talent I was given for music" ultimately feeling as though he hadn't achieved the level of success that he had hoped for.Woolridge would later decide that he would continue with his rap career.[5]