In a summer that has been highlighted by uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the same applies for UTRGV men’s basketball forward alumnus Lesley Varner II as he looks to continue his basketball career.
Varner in his 2019-20 senior season with UTRGV posted averages of 16 points, six rebounds and two steals per game while leading the Vaquero’s to a third-place finish in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).
UTRGV men’s basketball Head Coach Lew Hill summed up Varner’s senior season.
“He just put it all together and man when he put it all together and the light bulb went off, whoa, I didn’t think, I think he was just as good as anybody playing in the country. I thought he should’ve been WAC player of the year,” Hill said.
Although Varner’s senior season came to a premature end with the cancellation of the WAC tournament due to COVID-19, Varner said the Houston Rockets have shown interest amongst other teams.
Varner standing at 6-foot-7-inch tall and shooting 41% from three makes the UTRGV swingman an ideal 3&D player at the NBA level.
He explains that his agent, Mayar Zoekaei and the UTRGV coaching staff have helped him in the 2020 pre-NBA draft process.
“Early on it started off by them just contacting our coach and our staff and just asking certain questions about me as far as percentages and state-wise,” Varner said. “As I signed with an agent then they started to reach out to my agent.”
With the unpredictability surrounding the following 2020 NBA season, Varner has been weighting all his options including playing overseas until the NBA season begins.
Varner said playing overseas could also increase his NBA draft stock and also allow him to start his professional playing career.
“I feel like a benefit would be if you were able to see pro basketball,” he said.
Varner, in contact with other basketball players overseas, said he feels safe traveling during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to several tweets from NBA Insiders, such as Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the NBA and NBAPA are tentatively targeting November 18 for the 2020 NBA Draft but the date is still subject to change from the original date of Oct. 18.
Varner is looking to be the first UTRGV player to play in the NBA since Ken Green with the New York Knicks in the 1985-86 NBA season.
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For Vaquero Radio, I’m Luis Rubio.
