IOWA CITY, Iowa — The Associated Press announced on Wednesday that University of Iowa senior Luka Garza headlines the 2020-21 Preseason All-America Team. Garza was the lone unanimous selection, receiving all 64 votes.
Garza, who becomes the first Iowa men’s basketball player named to a preseason AP All-American, is joined on the team by Baylor’s Jared Butler, Cade Cunningham of Oklahoma State, and Illinois’ Ayo Dosunmu. Corey Kispert of Gonzaga and Arizona State’s Remy Martin tied for the final spot.
The AP ranked the Hawkeyes fifth in the country on Monday, in large part due to Garza’s decision to return for his senior season. Over the last five days, Garza has been named the Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year and named to the Kareem Abdul Jabbar Center of the Year Award Watch List, an award that he won last April.
Garza was a dominant force in 2019-20, earning National Player of the Year (six national media outlets) and Big Ten Player of the Year distinction, along with earning consensus first-team All-America laurels and earning the Kareem Abdul Jabbar Award. Garza (740 points and 305 rebounds) was one of three Big Ten players to ever to total 740+ points and 300+ rebounds in a single season. He ranked second nationally with 12 20-point/10-rebound performances and 20-point games (25); fifth in scoring (23.9); 10th in 30-point games (5); 19th in double-doubles (15) and offensive rebounds per game (3.58), and 34th in rebounding (9.8). His 15 double-doubles are third most in a single-season by a Hawkeye in three decades. Garza averaged 26.7 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks in 12 games against AP ranked opponents in 2019-20, including recording 11 straight 20-point performances.
The native of Washington, D.C., finished the 20-game league schedule averaging 26.2 points per game, becoming the first player to average at least 26 points in Big Ten play since Purdue’s Glenn Robinson in 1994 (31.1 ppg). Garza scored a school-record 740 points in 2019-20, breaking the program’s 50-year old record. He scored 20 points or more in a school-record 16 straight Big Ten games, the longest streak by any player in the Big Ten since Ohio State’s Dennis Hopson 16 in 1987.
Luka Garza 2020-21
- Associated Press Unanimous Preseason All-American
- Blue Ribbon First Team Preseason All-American
- CBS Sports First Team Preseason All-American
- Dick Vitale Preseason Player of the Year
- Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year
- Unanimous All-Big Ten Preseason Team
- Kareem Abdul Jabbar Center of the Year Watch List
