USA Today via Reuters
Dec 25, 2020; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes center Luka Garza (55) shoots the ball during the first half against the Minnesota Gophers at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Harrison Barden-USA TODAY Sports
USA Today via Reuters
Dec 25, 2020; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes center Luka Garza (55) shoots the ball during the first half against the Minnesota Gophers at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Harrison Barden-USA TODAY Sports
Luka Garza is definitely the best player to come to the Hawkeyes in ages. He has single-handedly made the team one of the most dangerous in the nation. A National Player of the Year award this season is inevitable for Garza, who has been breaking all sorts of records this season. While his Hawkeyes may not be a top-five team in the nation, they are one of the scariest teams available.
The ultimate sign of respect that an organization can give a player is having their jersey retired. However, to get a jersey retired for any organization means that their level of success for that team has to be immense. While Garza has never been an NBA Champion, head coach Fran McCaffrey believes Garza will get his jersey retired by the University.
Fran on retiring Luka's number, "It will happen, it's a matter of when."
— Tom Kakert (@HawkeyeReport) March 2, 2021
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Garza is the highest scorer in Iowa Hawkeyes history. Garza gave up on declaring for the 2020 NBA Draft to stay for one more season and graduate. This allows him to get another crack at winning National Player of the Year. Along with that, maybe he can lead Iowa to a deep run in March Madness and possibly win a title?
Luka Garza: Greatest Hawkeye in program history?
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Luka Garza may just be the greatest player in Iowa Hawkeyes history. He is their highest-scorer of all-time and is matching up to some of the greats of the program. He is also going to graduate after a full four years of service for the team. However, this isn’t a team that has enjoyed a lot of success in its history.
USA Today via Reuters
Dec 11, 2020; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes center Luka Garza (55) reacts after hitting a three point basket during the second half against the Iowa State Cyclones at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
Roy Marble and Ronnie Lester dominate the ‘best Hawkeye’conversation along with Garza. However, the greatest Hawkeye is easily Don Nelson. While Nelson did not have the same impact on the court that Garza had, he is the best export into the basketball world from the University.
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READ MORE: How Two-Time NBA Champion Hakeem Olajuwon Iowa Inspires Luka Garza
Nelson ended up becoming a five-time NBA Champion as a coach and is in the Basketball Hall of Fame today. However, nobody knows how Garza’s pro career turns out. Nobody has very high expectations from Garza when he leaves the NCAA, so it will be interesting to see how the rest of his career pans out.
