STARKVILLE — Jarvis Varnado still hasn”t decided if he will return for his senior season with the Mississippi State men”s basketball team.
Varnado will explore the possibility of leaving Mississippi State and turning professional.
Varnado and MSU coach Rick Stansbury met Thursday, but no decision was made.
Stansbury said there is no rush because the deadline for early-entry candidates to apply for the NBA Draft is April 26.
“Until then, we”ll gather all the facts we can, continue to communicate, and come to a decision for what”s best for Jarvis,” Stansbury said.
The NBA Draft Combine is May 27-31. The early-entry withdrawal deadline is June 15. The NBA Draft is June 25.
Varnado was voted the Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive yea. He led MSU to the Southeastern Conference tournament championship in Tampa, Fla., and an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Varnado was named the SEC tournament Most Valuable Player.
For the season, Varnado averaged 12.9 points and 8.8 rebounds per game and led the nation with 170 blocked shots.
Varnado doesn”t plan to make an rash decision about his future.
“I”m trying to leave basketball alone for a while,” Varnado said. “I”ll think about it and deal with it when the time comes. I haven”t made up my mind.”
Varnado will join Ole Miss players David Huertas and Terrico White on Monday for the Howell/Gillom Trophy presentation at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.