sioux34
Well-Known Member
I dont agree. I dont think there is much more improvement hard work can extract from Luca.
Garza Will Test NBA Waters, Leave Door Open for Iowa Return
- Thread starter RobHowe
- Start date
I can pretty much guarantee you thought the same thing last year. Most people did.
BigD
Well-Known Member
I will give the headphones a try to see if that helps.
I thought this was obvious sarcasm but I guess not.
sioux34
Well-Known Member
So, tell me, what exactly is he going to do better next year than this year?
Independent of his teammates, Luka could absolutely improve his free throw shooting and his three point shooting. Those things slide right into his game and would make him that much more hard to guard.
Now with respect to his teammates, Fran has an off season to work on sets that get guys open when Luka is doubled. I think last year that was kind of an "on the fly" thing because I don't think many including Fran saw Luka being doubled and tripled consistently. And it's hard to work on those things in the middle of the season. Injuries didn't help either.
While it's nice to have an 18 foot sky hook, he won't have to use that. His game will be dominating down low, taking his defenders to the perimeter and knocking down the 3, and getting everyone in foul trouble. He could very efficiently average 28 per game.
Who will be the fifth guy offensively is the million dollar question. Garza, JBo, Wieskamp and CJ, all deadly and capable of range and accuracy. Who is the 5th? To me that really will dictate a lot of Luka's game next year.
Northside Hawk
Well-Known Member
He improved his footwork, patience, speed, quickness and court vision and still has room for more improvement in all those areas.
#1DieHardHawk
Well-Known Member
The question really isn't whether or not Luka (or any player for that matter) can improve. He certainly can. The question is whether he realistically can reach the point where he could carve out an NBA career.
HIs work ethic and drive are both off the charts, but there's only so much you can do in terms of your inherent athletic ceiling. That said, some of the greatest players in NBA history were not necessarily great athletes. It can be done but the stars have to align.
The area where Luka's limited athleticism will become most apparent in the NBA is defense. You can hide, or compensate for, athletic limitations on offense pretty effectively, but defense is where players get exposed. It's just very difficult envisioning him effectively guarding players such as Anthony Davis and Joel Embiid, or, if he slides over to the four, players such as Giannis.
HIs work ethic and drive are both off the charts, but there's only so much you can do in terms of your inherent athletic ceiling. That said, some of the greatest players in NBA history were not necessarily great athletes. It can be done but the stars have to align.
The area where Luka's limited athleticism will become most apparent in the NBA is defense. You can hide, or compensate for, athletic limitations on offense pretty effectively, but defense is where players get exposed. It's just very difficult envisioning him effectively guarding players such as Anthony Davis and Joel Embiid, or, if he slides over to the four, players such as Giannis.
SomersHawk
Well-Known Member
Luka Garza IS going to take his game up to another level next year, as hard as that is to fathom for someone that put up the numbers he did. The part that excites me is he is indeed improving his athleticism and becoming so much more fluid. He already looks better and its only April! He barely misses from JBO range. Improving his free throw percentage alone will add 3 or 4 points.
I just hope he is in a HAWK uniform next year. He will go down as one of the all time greats in College Basketball if he does. That and the memories that next years team has the potential of creating would be really hard to pass up for a "possible" NBA career that will still be there in another year. Some things in life you can't put a price tag on and with his work ethic, Luka Garza is NEVER going to be hurting for money if he never plays a minute of pro ball anywhere.
I just hope he is in a HAWK uniform next year. He will go down as one of the all time greats in College Basketball if he does. That and the memories that next years team has the potential of creating would be really hard to pass up for a "possible" NBA career that will still be there in another year. Some things in life you can't put a price tag on and with his work ethic, Luka Garza is NEVER going to be hurting for money if he never plays a minute of pro ball anywhere.
NikeHawk21
Well-Known Member
Free throws. Pick and roll defense. Outside shooting.
NikeHawk21
Well-Known Member
Who the fifth guy is not the million dollar question for Iowa, not even close. We were 5th in offensive efficiency last year without Jbo for 2/3 of the year and that doesn’t even include improvements we should see for Joe T, CJF, and Connor for next year.
The biggest concern for Iowa is defense, and a close second is rebounding, and those are both fairly big concerns at this point. The offense will be in incredible.
If you re read what I wrote I said offensively.
NikeHawk21
Well-Known Member
I reread it and would have responded the exact same way.
Both from an Iowa perspective and a Garza’s NBA stock perspective offense is not going to be an issue.
Quite frankly Garza could have a lower offensive output next year simply because there are more guys that are capable of scoring. Garza needs to focus on improving his defense, particularly pick and roll defense, and Iowa as a team will go as far as the defense improves next season.
It’s pretty clear that it’s not an offensive production/stats issue at this point for Garza.
As you mentioned, Garza won't survive in the NBA without playing good pick and roll defense. He probably wouldn't survive in the G-League without it. You have to be an outstanding offensive NBA level player to offset that deficiency.
I would also say his footwork, while already good, probably needs to improve to perform at a pro level. From an athletic standpoint he'll be behind the curve so his footwork will need to be elite among pros in order for him to score against NBA 4s.
SteveGarvey1
Well-Known Member
Yesterday I watched some of the Iowa-Nebraska game from two seasons ago. Garza looked 5-10 lbs. lighter and actually looked quicker than he did last year. Last year, of course, he developed his game to where he was an overall much better player, but if he's going to make it into the NBA, he might be going in the wrong direction in terms of quickness.
... and the cherry on top will be the new patented sky hook he is working on. I want to see B1G frustrated trying to defend that.
