2026 center Ladarius Givan learning more about Mississippi State's staff
Two weekends ago, Mississippi State’s basketball staff welcomed several talented underclassmen to campus. That included 2026 center prospect Ladarius Givan of Jefferson Davis (Ala.) High School.
Givan has been on the Bulldogs’ campus multiple times since last summer and noted of his relationships with Mississippi State’s coaches.
“I was at Mississippi State last year for camp, too,” Givan recalled. “I like it. The coaching staff is cool and everybody treats me well. Coach (George) Brooks is always cool to me and I like being over there. Me and Coach Brooks are tight and that’s my guy.”
Along with last Saturday’s unofficial visit, Givan was also one of the top standouts at State’s elite camp in late August. He has taken notice of the start head coach Chris Jans has had in Starkville, as well.
“I am still learning more about Mississippi State and I’ve enjoyed my camps and visits there,” added the 6-foot-8 and 205-pound Givan. “I watched a couple of their games here and there last year but I haven’t gotten too deep watching them yet. But they’ve been doing good with Coach (Chris) Jans and they went on a run last year.”
On the recruiting scene, Givan is already off to a successful start. He holds a pair of early SEC offers but is more focused on improving his game rather than getting caught up with his recruiting success.
“I have offers Mississippi State, Alabama, Jacksonville State, Troy and Tennessee Tech,” noted Givan. “It’s a good start but I have more to prove. I have to keep my head down and keep going. Right now I think all of those schools are recruiting me as a center.”
Givan attended a couple of SEC camps in August and played summer ball with the Alabama Fusion. He noted of the parts of his game he worked on the most during his offseason.
“The only camps I went to this summer was Alabama and then Mississippi State,” said Givan. “Then I played summer ball with the Alabama Fusion and that was a pretty good experience and it’s a good program. I worked a lot with my back to the basket. I feel like I already have a guard game but I worked on having my back to the basket.”
Looking ahead to basketball season, Givan also plans to check out several SEC teams in action this season. That includes a return trip to Mississippi State to check out Jans’ second season with the Bulldogs.
“This season I will probably go to games at LSU, Mississippi State, Alabama and Auburn,” mentioned Givan. “Auburn is talking to me, too, in recruiting and I want to see all of those teams this season and see how they do.”
