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IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa standout Luka Garza was named to two more national midseason watch lists on Thursday, the Oscar Robertson and Naismith trophies.
Garza is one of 12 semifinalists for the Oscar Robertson Trophy and one of 30 players listed for the Naismith College Player of the Year Award. The Oscar Robertson Trophy is awarded annually to the most outstanding men’s college basketball player by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), while the Naismith Trophy is presented annually to the most outstanding player who achieves tremendous on-court success.
Garza is also a finalist for a handful of other prestigious awards: Wooden Award; Lute Olson National Player of the Year Award; and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award.
Garza (6-foot-11, 260 pounds) ranks first nationally with ten 20-point/10-rebound games this season, fourth in scoring (23.1), third in points per 40 minutes played (30.2), 13th in double-doubles (13), and 34th rebounding (9.9). His 13 double-doubles are the most by a Hawkeye in a single season since Reggie Evans’ 18 during the 2001-02 season. Garza is one of only two players in the country (only player from a Power 5 Conference) averaging 23 points and 9.9 rebounds per game.
The Big Ten leading scorer for most of the season has totaled 555 points, the most by a Hawkeye to start a season in 49 years. He is the first Hawkeye since Fred Brown in 1971 to score 20+ points in nine straight Big Ten games. Garza is one of two centers in the nation shooting 38 percent or better from 3-point range (min. 75 attempts).
The native of Washington, D.C., is one of three Big Ten players to have five or more 25-point/10-rebound performances in the same season since the 2009-10 season (Purdue’s Caleb Swanigan, 2016-17; Ohio State’s Evan Turner, 2009-10).
Garza has scored 25 points or more nine times this season, including five of the last eight contests. He has controlled 10 or more rebounds in 12 games and 12 or more rebounds eight times this season.
Ten semifinalists for the Naismith Trophy will be announced on March 5, and the finalists will be revealed on March 17. The winner of the Naismith Trophy for Men’s Player of the Year will be announced on April 5 at the Naismith Awards Brunch in Atlanta.
In March, the USBWA will announce its 2019-20 All-America Team and, at that time, finalists will also be chosen for the player of the year. The Oscar Robertson Trophy will be presented at the NCAA Final Four in Atlanta in April and the winner will be honored at the USBWA Awards Dinner on April 13 at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis.
No. 21/17 Iowa (17-7, 8-5) play at Indiana (15-8, 5-7) tonight in Bloomington, Indiana. The game will be televised nationally on BTN.
