Garza Is The Big Ten's Best
Iowa was first high-major scholarship offer that Luka Garza had, and the 6-foot-11 center never forgot that.
And when it was time to make a choice, Garza chose the Hawkeyes.
On Monday, he was named the Big Ten's player of the year by the conference's media and coaches, the first Iowa player honored since Sam Williams in 1968.
"He has a never-ending pursuit of excellence you just don't often see," Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said on the Big Ten's pre-tournament teleconference on Monday. "I've coached some really good players, but Luka Garza is unique."
It has been a unique season for Garza, who averaged 23.9 points overall, fifth-best in NCAA Division I play, and 26.2 points in conference play, best in the Big Ten.
He is on a streak of 16 consecutive Big Ten games of 20 points or more, the most in conference play since Ohio State's Dennis Hopson in 1987.
Garza has scored 740 points this season, a new program single-season record.
"A lot of people were doubting the ability of my game to translate to this level," Garza said in an interview last week. "Just didn't think that was going to happen, didn't think I was athletic enough to play at this level. They didn't think I could jump high enough, run fast enough, whatever the case may be."
By the time Garza started gaining high-major attention, he had already built a relationship with McCaffery.
"At the end of the day, it came down to his loyalty to me, his ability to see something in me before any other coach at this level really did," Garza said. "It ended up being a really easy decision for me."
Garza scored 20 points or more in 19 of the Hawkeyes' 20 Big Ten games this season. His lone game of less than 20 points was a 16-point, 18-rebound game in a loss to Nebraska.
Garza had 77 points in two games against Michigan this season, including a 44-point night in the conference opener in early December. That game, and Garza's 38-point outing in a loss at Indiana, are the two top scoring games in the Big Ten this season.
Garza scored 59 points in two games against Penn State, and had 53 in two games against Illinois.
Garza was a first-team all-conference selection. Sophomore teammate Joe Wieskamp was named to the third team by the coaches and the media. Redshirt freshman guard CJ Fredrick was named to the all-freshman team.
The award ends a winter in which Iowa swept the top honors in men's basketball, women's basketball and wrestling. Kathleen Doyle was women's basketball player of the year, while Spencer Lee was wrestler of the year. It is the first time in conference history a school claimed all three honors in the same year.
