Luka Garza

Luka Garza (born December 27, 1998) is an American college basketball player for the Iowa Hawkeyes of the Big Ten Conference. In high school, he played for Maret School in his hometown of Washington, D.C. and was considered a four-star recruit. Garza was a regular starter in his first two years with Iowa, earning All-Big Ten honorable mention as a sophomore, and had a breakout junior season.

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 recreate their moves.

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. In high school, Garza was coached by Chuck Driesell, son of Basketball Hall of Fame coach Lefty Driesell. 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. He left as his school's all-time leading scorer, with 1,993 points. He was a four-star recruit and chose to play college basketball for Iowa over offers from Georgetown, Georgia and Notre Dame, among others.

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. As a freshman, Garza averaged 12.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Shortly before his sophomore season, Garza had a nine-pound cyst removed. He also dealt with a sprained ankle in January 2019. In the NCAA Tournament, Garza had 20 points and seven rebounds to help Iowa upset Cincinnati. He averaged 13.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per game as a sophomore. Garza was named All-Big Ten honorable mention by the media.

Garza scored 44 points, third-most in Iowa history, in a 103-91 loss to Michigan on December 6. 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. 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. Garza had 34 points and 12 rebounds in a 89-86 loss to Penn State on January 4, 2020. He was named to the midseason watch lists for the Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy and Oscar Robertson Trophy. On February 13, Garza tallied 38 points, eight rebounds and four blocks in an 89–77 loss to Indiana.

At the close of the regular season, Garza was named the Big Ten Player of the Year. He was then named National Player of the Year by the Sporting News. Garza averaged 23.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per game as a junior.

College

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.

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