IOWA CITY, Iowa — Iowa's Luka Garza has been a big part of the Hawkeyes' game plan in each of his three seasons.. This year, though, the Peacock has flown - no, soared - to new heights, securing the highest individual honor in the Big Ten: Player of the Year.
Garza stepped in right away in his freshman season, starting 26 of Iowa's 33 games and averaging 12.1 points per en route to a 14-19 season. The Hawkeyes didn't make the NCAA tournament or NIT that year.
The next year actually saw Garza's numbers largely dip. He upped his points per game total to 13.1 and substantially improved his free throw percentage, but saw dips in his field goal and three-point shooting percentages, total rebounds and rebounds per game, assists, steals and blocked shots. But the team's all-around chemistry was better, and the Hawks ended their year nearly upsetting the two-seed Tennessee in the NCAA tournament.
Something in the offseason must have clicked in just the right way for Garza. This season, he's seen career-highs in almost every major statistical category - and it's not close.
As a junior, Garza put up an average of 23.9 points per game - a nearly 11-point jump from the previous season. That number is tops in the Big Ten, and fifth in the nation.
He hadn't broken 1,000 points coming into the year, but is now a part of the 1,500-point club with (possibly) one more season to play.
On top of his scoring, Garza was top-five in the Big Ten in all four rebounding categories (offensive, defensive, overall and rebounds per game) and in field goal percentage. His number of blocked shots also skyrocketed from 17 last season to 55 this year.
On top of his monster season stats, he's also proven he can deliver in big situations. According to the Iowa Basketball twitter account, Garza has put up nearly 27 points and over 11 rebounds per game against ranked teams this year. That's the kind of production you want going into the postseason.
Everything he's brought to the table is more than enough to secure his status as Big Ten Player of the Year.
Garza becomes the first Hawkeye to win the award on the men's side since Sam Williams in 1968. On top of that, also joins Kathleen Doyle as the second Hawkeye to win the award this year. He's also the third player from an Iowa university to be named Player of the Year in their respective conference.
Along with Garza, sophomore Joe Wieskamp was named to the third All-Big Ten Team, and CJ Frederick was named to the all-freshman team.
The Hawkeyes ended their regular season with a loss to Illinois Sunday, securing them the fifth seed in the Big Ten tournament. Even if they're handed an early exit in Indianapolis, Iowa is an almost guaranteed in to the NCAA tournament later this month.