Luka Garza

Luka Garza (born December 27, 1998) is an American college basketball player for the Iowa Hawkeyes of the Big Ten Conference. As a junior he was named a consensus first-team All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year. Garza played for Maret School in his hometown of Washington, D.C., where he was a four-star recruit.

Luka Garza
Garza in January 2020
No. 55 – Iowa Hawkeyes
PositionCenter
LeagueBig Ten Conference
Personal information
Born (1998-12-27) December 27, 1998
Washington, D.C.
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight265 lb (120 kg)
Career information
High schoolMaret School
(Washington, D.C.)
CollegeIowa (2017–present)
Career highlights and awards

Early life and high school career

Garza grew up in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. He learned to play basketball from his father, Frank, who played for Idaho at the college level. Garza watched video tapes that his father collected of former National Basketball Association (NBA) post players like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and attempted to re-create their moves.[1]

He stood 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) as a freshman attending Maret School in Washington, D.C. but was not able to dunk a basketball until he was a sophomore.[1] In high school, Garza was coached by Chuck Driesell, son of Basketball Hall of Fame coach Lefty Driesell.[2] In his senior season, he averaged 24.6 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game. Garza led Maret to the District of Columbia State Athletic Association (DCSAA) title game and earned D.C. Gatorade Player of the Year honors.[3] He left as his school's all-time leading scorer, with 1,993 points.[4]

Recruiting

He was a four-star recruit and chose to play college basketball for Iowa over offers from Georgetown, Georgia and Notre Dame, among others.[5]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Luka Garza
C		 Washington, D.C. Maret School (DC) 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 265 lb (120 kg) Sep 10, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 83
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 111  247Sports: 105  ESPN: 100
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Iowa 2017 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  • "2017 Iowa Hawkeyes Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  • "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 28, 2020.

    College career
    Garza (right) in December 2019

    In his college debut versus Chicago State, Garza had 16 points. He had his first double-double of 11 points and 13 rebounds the following game in a win over Alabama State and was named Big Ten freshman of the week.[6] As a freshman, Garza averaged 12.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.[7] Shortly before his sophomore season, Garza underwent surgery to remove a nine-pound cyst attached to his spleen.[8][9] He also dealt with a sprained ankle in January 2019.[7] In the NCAA Tournament, Garza had 20 points and seven rebounds to help Iowa upset Cincinnati.[2] He averaged 13.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per game as a sophomore.[10] Garza was named All-Big Ten honorable mention by the media.[11]

    Garza scored 44 points, third-most in Iowa history, in a 103–91 loss to Michigan on December 6.[12] He followed this up with 21 points and 10 rebounds in a 72–52 win over Minnesota and was named Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week.[13] In an 84–68 win against Iowa State on December 12, Garza had a tooth jarred loose after taking an elbow from teammate Joe Wieskamp. Garza returned to the game and finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds.[14] Garza had 34 points and 12 rebounds in a 89–86 loss to Penn State on January 4, 2020.[15] He was named to the midseason watch lists for the Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy and Oscar Robertson Trophy.[16][17] On February 13, Garza tallied 38 points, eight rebounds and four blocks in an 89–77 loss to Indiana.[18] At the close of the regular season, he was named the Big Ten Player of the Year.[19] He was then named National Player of the Year by the Sporting News.[20] Garza averaged 23.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per game as a junior, earning consensus first-team All-American honors.[21][22] Following the season, Garza declared for the 2020 NBA draft.[23] On August 2, he announced he was withdrawing from the draft and returning to Iowa.[24]

    On November 27, Garza scored a Carver–Hawkeye Arena-record 41 points, including 36 in the first half, on 14-of-15 shooting while posting nine rebounds and three blocks in a 103–76 win over Southern. He joined John Johnson as the only players in program history to record two 40-point games.[25] In his next game, on December 3, Garza scored 30 first-half points as part of a 35-point, 10-rebound performance in a 99–58 victory over Western Illinois.[26] On December 11, he posted 34 points and six three-pointers in a 105–77 win over Iowa State.[27] Garza scored his 2,000th point in a February 2, 2021 win over Michigan State.[28]

    Career statistics
    Legend
      GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
     FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
     RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
     BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

    College
    Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
    2017–18 Iowa 332621.7.557.348.6816.41.1.31.012.1
    2018–19 Iowa 323023.7.531.292.8044.5.9.3.513.1
    2019–20 Iowa 313132.0.542.358.6519.81.2.81.823.9
    Career 968725.7.542.335.6986.91.0.51.116.2

    Personal life

    Garza is of half-Bosnian descent. His father is of American origin, and his mother is from Bosnia and Herzegovina, of Bosniak origin. Both of Garza's parents have basketball experience: his father, Frank, played collegiately at Idaho, and his mother, Šejla (née Muftić), played professionally in Europe. His grandfather on his father's side, James Halm, played college basketball for Hawaii. His uncle on his mother's side, Teoman Alibegović, is the all-time leading scorer for the Slovenia national basketball team.[29]

    His maternal grandfather, Refik Muftić, was an accomplished association football goalkeeper, spending his entire career with FK Sarajevo.

    Garza's mother is also an executive assistant at the Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Washington, D.C.[30]

    References
    1. Emmert, Mark (February 6, 2019). "Iowa's Luka Garza studies the masters in attempt to become elite scorer". Hawk Central. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
    2. Feinstein, John (March 22, 2019). "Iowa's Luka Garza is a rising star, and Lefty Driesell has been saying it for years". The Gazette. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
    3. Whooley, Connor (March 20, 2017). "Iowa hoops commit Luke Garza wins Washington, D.C., Gatorade Player of the Year". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
    4. Mullan, Dillon (March 21, 2017). "Maret big man Luka Garza wins D.C. Gatorade Player of the Year". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
    5. Goodwin, Cody (September 10, 2016). "Four-star big man Luka Garza commits to Iowa hoops". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
    6. "Iowa and Minnesota Earn First Weekly Men's Basketball Honors: Minnesota's Jordan Murphy earns Player of the Week honors; Hawkeyes' Luka Garza named Freshmen of the Week". BigTen.org. CBS Interactive. November 13, 2017. Archived from the original on November 14, 2017. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
    7. "Sophomore Luka Garza on a tear for surging Hawkeyes". USA Today. Associated Press. February 5, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
    8. "Iowa C Luka Garza shooting for opener after cyst removed". USA Today. Associated Press. October 8, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
    9. Eickholt, David (December 14, 2019). "Luka Garza is "as tough of a player as you're going to find"". 247 Sports. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
    10. Meredith, Luke (December 5, 2019). "Luka Garza's Monster Start Propels Surging Hawkeyes". Associated Press. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
    11. "Big Ten Unveils Men's Basketball Postseason Honors on BTN". BigTen.org. March 11, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
    12. Kahn, Andrew (December 7, 2019). "Luka Garza dropped 44 points on Michigan but it didn't matter". MLive. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
    13. Eickholt, David (December 10, 2019). "Luka Garza named Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week". 247 Sports. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
    14. Creglow, Zach; Emmert, Mark (December 12, 2019). "Iowa star Luka Garza has tooth jarred loose, returns to game: 'I'll do anything for this team'". Hawk Central. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
    15. Emmert, Mark (January 4, 2020). "No. 25 Iowa falls 89–86 to No. 21 Penn State at historic Palestra". Hawk Central. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
    16. "Gonzaga's Filip Petrusev among new faces on Wooden Award midseason list". ESPN. January 8, 2020. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
    17. Bohnenkamp, John (February 13, 2020). "Garza Named To Robertson, Naismith Lists". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
    18. Leistikow, Chad (February 13, 2020). "Iowa wastes another huge night from Luka Garza in loss at Indiana". Iowa City Press-Citizen. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
    19. "Big Ten Unveils Men's Basketball Postseason Honors on BTN" (Press release). Big Ten Conference. March 9, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
    20. DeCourcy, Mike (March 10, 2020). "Iowa's Luka Garza is Sporting News' 2019-20 Player of the Year". Sporting News. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
    21. Dauster, Rob (March 10, 2020). "NBC Sports College Basketball All-American Teams". NBC Sports. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
    22. "Luka Garza: Consensus First-Team All-American". University of Iowa Athletics. March 24, 2020. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
    23. "Iowa's Luka Garza declares for NBA draft, keeps eligibility". ESPN. April 10, 2020. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
    24. Dauster, Rob (August 2, 2020). "Luka Garza returns to Iowa to make a run at Player of the Year, Final Four". NBC Sports. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
    25. Bohnenkamp, John (November 27, 2020). "Nearly perfect Garza scores 41, No. 5 Iowa routs Southern". The Washington Post. The Associated Press. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
    26. Doxsie, Don (December 4, 2020). "Luka Garza scores 30-plus again as Iowa beats Western Illinois". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
    27. Hlas, Mike (December 11, 2020). "Luka Garza torches Iowa State in second half, Iowa wins 105-77". The Gazette. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
    28. "Garza reaches 2,000 points as Iowa tops Michigan State 84-78". USA Today. February 2, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
    29. Goldwein, Eric (February 25, 2016). "Maret's Luka Garza keeps family basketball tradition going". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
    30. Doxsie, Don (January 18, 2020). "Garza's rise the product of work, toughness and Dad's plan". Quad-City Times. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
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