Hawkeyes Still In Top 10 In NBC Sports' Preseason Top 25
Luka Garza has less than a month now to make up his mind on whether to stay in the NBA Draft, or come back for his senior season at Iowa.
Garza, a consensus All-American center who was named the national player of the year by six news outlets after the 2019-20 season, is a big reason why the Hawkeyes are still in the top 10 of so many preseason top-25 lists.
Iowa is still at No. 8 in NBC Sports' preseason rankings, which was updated earlier this week.
Rob Dauster wrote:
"I’m assuming Luka Garza will be back for his senior season, which is a helluva way for Fran McCaffery to anchor a roster that looks as good as anyone in the Big Ten, but that’s no guarantee. I think Joe Toussaint has a chance to be one of the breakout stars in college basketball next year, which is a pretty good sign for a team that also returns the preseason Player of the Year — yes, I’m taking the liberty of locking Luka into that award — along with talents like Joe Wieskamp and C.J. Fredrick."
If Garza returns, the Hawkeyes will have one of the most experienced starting lineups in the nation with all five starters back from a 20-win team in 2019-20 that likely would have made it into the NCAA tournament.
The expected lineup would be Garza, Wieskamp, Fredrick, guard Connor McCaffery and guard Jordan Bohannon. Toussaint also would be competing foe a starting spot as well.
