One of the last players to announce for the draft before Sunday’s deadline, Mississippi State junior forward Jarvis Varnado announced that he will enter the NBA Draft and does not plan to sign with an agent. Varnado was one of the best defenders in the country, averaging 12.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 4.7 blocks per game. Varnado said in a press release that he looks forward to the NBA Draft process.
“I just want to test the water to see where I stand,” said Varnado, who led the nation with 170 blocks, an SEC single-season record, and has 394 for his career. “I’m not going to hire an agent so I can have an opportunity to return.”
Should he return for his senior season, he would need just 19 more blocks to surpass former LSU great Shaquille O’Neal’s SEC career mark of 412 and 141 to tie the NCAA record of 535 Louisiana-Monroe’s Wojciech Mydra set from 1998-2002.
