It was Saturday, Jan. 12. The place was the Humphrey Coliseum. The opponents were the Georgia Bulldogs. Or perhaps victims would be the word that would be better suited for Georgia on that unlucky day.
On an offensive possession, a Georgia guard worked the ball around the three-point line and sought a teammate near the goal for a simple shot. He thought he found what he was searching for, so he dumped the ball inside to a forward. The visiting Bulldog went up with his shot.
And it was swatted.
The same player caught the deflection and pressed his luck by attempting a put-back.
It was swatted again.
After quickly deciding that the third time would be the charm, another Georgia player attempted yet another shot.
And, of course, it was swatted.
The third swatted ball was knocked to Jamont Gordon, who caught the ball and took it back to the home side of the court. Mississippi State then extended its lead and won the game 60-49.
But that trip down the court was momentous because it gave a glimpse as to what Jarvis “Swat” Varnado was capable of doing to opponents who threw up not just one shot, but multiple shots that were within his space.
And that space encompasses a lot of area, given the Bulldog center’s 7-foot-4-inch wingspan.
In that game against Georgia, Varnado amassed a career-best ten blocks.
He then followed up that impressive display with another ten block performance in a nationally-televised game against Kentucky three days later.
Those blocks simply added to his already-bloated blocked shots statistic, where he is currently ranked at the top of all NCAA players with 5.2 blocked shots per contest.
With an astronomical number such as that one, it would be logical to think he could write a how-to book on blocking shots. But, as he said, it is not something he can teach.
“It’s just got to be good timing and good knowledge of the game,” Varnado said. “There’s nothing you can do to practice it. You just have to go with your instincts and time it.”
He has done a good job with his timing and shot-blocking ability so far this season.
His 93 blocked shots leave him only 13 blocks shy of tying former Bulldog Erick Dampier’s Mississippi State single-season blocked shots record, and the Bulldogs are only a shade over halfway finished with their season.
With his 93 blocks, he has already eclipsed the 67 blocks from his entire freshman season.
The difference is beyond the book of statistics, however, as he has also brought a little more to the table than just his blocking ability.
“His intensity level has increased so much,” fellow sophomore Barry Stewart said. “Jarvis has brought another aspect to his game. He’s stepped it up a notch, and that’s what we need on this team.”
Varnado also credits his improvement from last season to an offseason filled with study and strength training.
“I think [my improvement is because] of my knowledge of the game and conditioning and strength,” the Brownsville, Tenn., native said. “I’ve gotten a little stronger.”
Varnado added ten pounds of muscle to his frame during the previous offseason in hopes of being more of a force in the frontcourt.
He also hopes to gain even more muscle in the future, with aspirations of gaining 20 more pounds to add to the 210 he currently possesses.
Even though he is not at the weight he would like to be, his teammates still realize he is a dominant threat and a major component to the Southeastern Conference’s top-ranked field goal percentage defense.
“It makes my job easier, I think,” Gordon said. “I can get into people, and I can take a gamble every once in a while. I know he’s got my back.”
As the Bulldogs strive to maintain their unblemished record in conference play, Stewart said Varnado will continue to play a vital role on the defensive end.
“I think we might take him for granted a little bit,” Stewart said. “We don’t purposefully funnel people to him, but sometimes the big guys just go up on Jarvis. But having Jarvis down there is a key to our defense.