Iowa Basketball: Luka Garza Becomes First Hawkeye to Earn National Player of the Week Honors

Luka Garza is having himself a season. The Iowa big man is leading the Big Ten in scoring at 22.5 points per game and is nearly averaging a double-double with 9.8 rebounds per game.

Last week, Garza averaged 33.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in Iowa’s two road games at Syracuse and #4 Michigan. Yesterday, he was named the Big Ten Player of the Week. Today, the DC-native was recognized for his efforts by being named the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week.

Garza is the first Hawkeye to ever bring home the honor, which is one of a handful of historic things he did in his incredible performances last week. According to a press release by Iowa athletics, his career high 44 points at Michigan were, “the most points scored in a game by an Iowa big man, third most in program history, most by an opposing player in Crisler Center history behind only Rudy Tomjanovich’s 48 points versus Indiana in 1969, and the most points scored by a Hawkeye since guard John Johnson poured in a school-record 49 points against Northwestern in 1970.”

Additionally, the 44-points are believed to be the most by a player in the Big Ten since Glenn Robinson dropped 44 on Kansas back in 1994.

Last night, Garza continued his tremendous season by following up the 44-point outburst with 21 points and 10 boards as Iowa dominated Minnesota 72-52 to pick up their first Big Ten win of the season.

Through ten games this year, the big man is clearly a 1st Team All-Big Ten player and is well on his way to becoming an All-American. He’ll look to keep up his scorching pace as Iowa travels to Ames to take on Iowa State (6-3) on Thursday night. That’s a 7pm CT tip. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

Congratulations Luka Garza!