Luka Garza Weighing Options While Working Out with Loaded Iowa Roster
- Thread starter RobHowe
- Start date
MisterLucky
Well-Known Member
I'm a pessimist at heart, but I was hoping Garza would come back and we long suffering Hawk fans would finally win another B1G title and maybe even make it to another Final Four. Unfortunately, I think the scattershot approach to dealing with the pandemic is making it more and more unlikely that we even have a season. Luka may not even have the option to play in the NBA (or G League) or in Europe. All of these athletes may be forced to suspend their careers (at least) a year. Maybe the NCAA will give all of their participating athletes an extra year of eligibility, but even that would play havoc with HS Seniors preparing to enter college. We are truly in a disrupted and devastating season.
But, like I said, I'm a pessimist by nature.
But, like I said, I'm a pessimist by nature.
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WinOneThisCentury
Well-Known Member
Garza has a shot to become the leading scorer and leading rebounder in program history...it would have been a lock had he played 4 or 5 more games last year. He also knows the NBA isn't going anywhere for him. He can probably get an insurance policy to protect him...but I think he likes the idea of coming back with the team that's going to be around him. If Bohannon and Nunge come back strong. Holy crap...deep...and we can score from everywhere.
Bohannon, Frederick, Weiskamp, Nunge, and Garza...5 guys that can shoot the three. Then you bring in Connor and Toussant and you can really run the floor. I wish Pemsl would have come back...for depth...but hopefully one of the young guys can play some minutes down low.
Bohannon, Frederick, Weiskamp, Nunge, and Garza...5 guys that can shoot the three. Then you bring in Connor and Toussant and you can really run the floor. I wish Pemsl would have come back...for depth...but hopefully one of the young guys can play some minutes down low.
I was wondering the same thing about the insurance policy. To be the all time leading scorer at a Big Ten school and also be safe with your financial future seems like a win win.
I'm so fired up for this season. But yeah look at it from Frans eyes. This is legacy defining for him. Strait up career defining. There's really no underselling that. The difference between a BIG Title chance, potential final 4 run and maybe being middle of the pack and just making the dance is on the line. As much as all of us hope, want and even assume Garza is coming back nobody wants it more then he does. Frans never had a player like him or a group like this to go with it. I haven't even gotten to his two sons also being on the roster the younger it sounds like is putting weight on and feeling significantly better. There's no way he's had a season he's ever looked more forward to coaching no way.
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kicker22
Well-Known Member
Definitely a tough decision for him, but the price of staying around another year to break the scoring record is that it makes him one more year older in the grand scheme of things. His style of play isn't exactly coveted in the NBA so that year returning could cost him a year playing overseas or in the G League trying to get a shot.
I think the question may need to be which is more important to him. Is it finishing a career at Iowa and possibly walking away as the all-time leading scorer on a team that could make a deep run in March? Or is a professional career and making an NBA roster his top priority? While they both may be attainable the NBA may still be years away. Either way he's an amazing college player and will go down as one of Iowa's all time greats.
BILLBUCKNER
Well-Known Member
Once in a lifetime opportunity to be the National Player of the Year. I don't understand why he would want to throw that chance away to possibly play in the D league or in Europe. Now if he was a lock to be a 2nd round player. I don't blame him.
HawkeyeTech
Well-Known Member
Luka has stated that unless he is guaranteed a roster spot on an NBA team, he will return to Iowa. Unless his workouts have improved his draft standing enough to move into the first round he should be back.
tweeterhawk
Well-Known Member
You're not, at least as far as this topic. This is not happening in the bubble of Iowa City or even the B1G. Teh Germ appears to be surging around the country. The NCAA and its respective conferences are going to need to make decisions based on the entirety of collegiate sports. I would wager a week's salary there will be no NCAA football or basketball this year.
'Course, I'm retired and have no salary, so it's a meaningless bet...
spliff45
Well-Known Member
Luka is announcing on August 2nd.
David Eickholt
@DavidEickholt
1h
#Hawkeyes star Luka Garza will announce his NBA Draft Decision on August 2, his father tells
@247Sports
He gone...Better to be paid in Europe than hang out in Iowa City.
.
David Eickholt
@DavidEickholt
1h
#Hawkeyes star Luka Garza will announce his NBA Draft Decision on August 2, his father tells
@247Sports
He gone...Better to be paid in Europe than hang out in Iowa City.
.
MisterLucky
Well-Known Member
Just another negative result of having an administration that was too incompetent to protect it's population. And I don't want to hear about who else is to blame. Pretty much every country with intelligent leadership went through this same pandemic and have already come out the other side and are normalizing their lives. Ours is being led by a bunch who would rather call the whole thing a hoax, point fingers and brag about what a great job they did instead of solving the problem from the beginning when we had a chance to at least blunt the effects of this pandemic. The world, our enemies and allies alike, continue to look on us and marvel at our ineptitude.
Sorry about this rant. I know this isn't a political forum, but I love Iowa Basketball and have suffered for decades waiting for a team with this year's potential and now it will go up in smoke.
Sorry about this rant. I know this isn't a political forum, but I love Iowa Basketball and have suffered for decades waiting for a team with this year's potential and now it will go up in smoke.
GoHawks24
Well-Known Member
BuT hE sAvEd MiLlioNs Of LiVeS!
Northside Hawk
Well-Known Member
I understand the frustration but our 2001-2002 team had at least as much potential. Other years that looked good on pre season hype included 92-93, 98-99, maybe 15-16.
01-02 especially, I remember every preseason publication putting us in their top ten.
I
Ian Pike Hammer
Guest
No way in hell he could even trust any NBA TEAM to tell him the truth. IMO, they are masters at blowing smoke up your skirt, telling college players one thing, then on draft day will ask, "Who's he again?"
MisterLucky
Well-Known Member
The 2001-02 Hawkeye team finished 19-16 and 8th (out of 11) in the conference. We wound up in the NIT losing to LSU in the first round. You're right. They had potential with Recker, Evans, Worley, Pierce, etc, but I always think of them as just another one of Alford's underperforming squads.
The 2014-15 team was probably the biggest disappointment to me. We had White, Uthoff, Jok, Olesani, Gesell, Woodbury and Clemmons. We avoided the end-of-season swoon that plagued so many of our teams (including the 15-16), won at UNC, beat Michigan St., Ohio St. twice, etc Won 22 games and fished 3rd in the conference. Blasted Davidson, who many experts picked to beat us, in the NCAA's and then hit the brick wall that was Gonzaga.
But none of the teams discussed here had the consensus NPOY returning to an Iowa program. assuming that : (1) Garza decides to come back for his senior year and, (2) there is a season.
Northside Hawk
Well-Known Member
That LSU team was freakishly athletic. Torris Bright, Brad Bridgwater, Collis Temple, Ronald Dupree. I hard a hard time figuring out why they didn’t make the Dance.
In any case they sure exposed us. We were uninspired and there were rumblings that some players weren’t happy with Alford. Courtney Scott, for one, ended up transferring an d out the door said that Alford allowed Evans to get too physical in practice.
