Luka Garza Named USBWA First-Team All-America
IOWA CITY, Iowa — The United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) announced its first-team All-America team on Monday, which included University of Iowa junior Luka Garza.
Garza becomes the first Hawkeye in program history to be voted to the first team since 1957, the first year that the USBWA recognized All-Americans. Former Hawkeye Jarrod Uthoff was a second team honoree by the USBWA in 2016.
The USBWA is one of four outlets used by the NCAA to determine its consensus All-America teams (AP, National Association of Basketball Coaches, USBWA, and Sporting News). Garza was named to the first-team All-America squad by Sporting News and Associated Press in recent weeks with the NABC expected to make their announcement later this week. Garza looks to join former Hawkeyes Murray Wier (1948) and Charles Darling (1952) as consensus first team All-Americans.
Five major news outlets have already named Garza as its national player of the year: Sporting News, Basketball Times, Stadium, Bleacher Report, and ESPN. Garza is the first Iowa men’s basketball player to earn national player of the year distinction. Additionally, Garza has been named first team All-America by every major news outlet.
The Washington, D.C., native is also a finalist for five national awards: Naismith Trophy, Oscar Robertson Trophy, Wooden Award, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, and the Lute Olson Award.
Garza (740 points and 305 rebounds) is one of three Big Ten players to ever to total 740+ points and 300+ rebounds in a single-season (Purdue’s Glenn Robinson in 1994 and Purdue’s Joe Barry Carroll in 1979). He ranked second nationally with 12 20-point/10-rebound performances, 20-point games (25); third in total field goals made (287) and points per 40 minutes played (29.8), fifth in scoring (23.9), 10th in 30-point games (5), 19th in double-doubles (15) and offensive rebounds per game (3.58), and 34th in rebounding (9.8). His 15 double-doubles are third most in a single-season by a Hawkeye in three decades and the most since 2002 (Reggie Evans, 18). Garza averaged 26.7 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks in 12 games against AP ranked opponents in 2019-20, including recording 11 straight 20-point performances, the longest streak by any player since UConn’s Kemba Walker in 2011.
The Big Ten and USBWA District VI Player of the Year, finished the 20-game conference schedule averaging 26.2 points per game, becoming the first player to average at least 26 points in Big Ten play since Purdue’s Glenn Robinson in 1994 (31.1 ppg). Garza scored a school-record 740 points this season, breaking the program’s 50-year old record previously set by John Johnson in 1970. He scored 20 points or more in a school-record 16 straight Big Ten games, the longest streak by any player in the Big Ten since Ohio State’s Dennis Hopson 16 in 1987.
Garza is the only Big Ten player to register seven 25-point/10-rebound performances in the same season in more than 17 years. He has produced the two highest point totals in a game by a Big Ten player this season (44 at Michigan; 38 at Indiana).
LUKA GARZA HONORS (2019-20)
- Sporting News, Basketball Times, Stadium, Bleacher Report, and ESPN National Player of the Year
- Dick Vitale, Seth Davis, Andy Katz’s National Player of the Year
- Sporting News, USBWA, AP, CBS, NBC, ESPN, Stadium, USA Today, The Athletic First-Team All-America
• Big Ten Men’s Basketball Player of the Year
• USBWA District VI Player of the Year - Naismith Trophy Finalist
• Wooden Award National Ballot
• Oscar Robertson Player of the Year Trophy Semifinalist
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award Finalist
• Lute Olson Award Top 30