Jarvis Varnado
Jarvis Lamar Varnado is an American former professional basketball player who last played for Piratas de La Guaira of the Venezuelan Basketball League. Varnado is known as a defensive specialist and is especially adept at shot blocking where he's aided by his large wingspan.
Early life
Varnado graduated from Haywood High School in Brownsville, Tennessee in 2006.Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Varnado was listed as the No. 16 power forward and the No. 62 player in the nation in 2006.
College career
Varnado played for Mississippi State in the Southeastern Conference of the NCAA Division I from 2006 to 2010.He led the NCAA in blocks for the 2007–08 season with 157 blocks, tying Shaquille O'Neal for the most blocks in a season in the SEC. In the 2008–09 season, he would break that single season record with 170 blocks.
On November 21, 2009, Varnado became the SEC's all-time career block record holder with 413 total blocks in his career. This passed O'Neal's career block record of 412. On January 23, 2010, Varnado surpassed Adonal Foyle on the NCAA's Division I all-time career blocks list to become the second-leading shot-blocker. Needing 8 blocks for the record, Varnado became the NCAA's Division I all-time shot blocker against Alabama on February 24, 2010, passing Wojciech Myrda's record of 535 career blocks.
Varnado was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 3 consecutive years becoming the first person to do so. He is one of just two college players in history to achieve the milestone of 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 500 blocks.
Professional career
Carmatic Pistoia (2010–2011)
Varnado was drafted by the Miami Heat with the 41st pick in the 2010 NBA draft. However, he signed to play with Carmatic Pistoia, an Italian team playing in the second-division. Varnado played 33 games with Pistoia and averaged 15.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks per game.Hapoel Jerusalem (2011–2012)
Varnado participated in minicamps with the Heat during the summer of 2011. On August 12, 2011, he signed a contract with Hapoel Jerusalem of Israeli Basketball Super League. After playing 12 games for the club in all competitions, on January 24, 2012, Varnado left the team.Virtus Roma (2012)
After he exited Jerusalem, Varnado signed with Virtus Roma of the Italian first division Serie A.Sioux Falls Skyforce (2012)
On September 7, 2012, Varnado was signed by the Heat for workouts. He was waived on October 26, 2012. After being waived by the Heat, Varnado joined the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA Development League. Varnado was named D-League player of the week for the first week of the 2012–13 season.Boston Celtics (2012–2013)
On December 24, 2012, Varnado was signed by the Boston Celtics. On January 6, 2013, he was waived by the Celtics.Miami Heat (2013)
On January 9, 2013, Varnado accepted a 10-day contract with the Miami Heat, the same team that drafted him in 2010. He was signed to a second 10-day contract on January 20, 2013, and was signed for the rest of the season on January 30. The Heat sent him to the Sioux Falls Skyforce for assignments in March and April 2013. Varnado won his first NBA championship with the Heat when they defeated the San Antonio Spurs 4–3 in the 2013 NBA Finals.On October 21, 2013, Varnado was waived by the Heat.