Luka Garza Named Finalist For Senior CLASS Award

Luka Garza Named Finalist For Senior CLASS Award

Credit Source: University of Iowa Athletics

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa men’s basketball senior All-American Luka Garza is one of 10 NCAA men’s basketball finalists for the 2020-21 Senior CLASS Award in collegiate basketball.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

To be eligible for the award, student-athletes must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character, and competition.

The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2021 NCAA Men’s Final Four.

Garza (6-foot-11, 265 pounds) has been the most dominant player in college basketball in 2020-21. Garza leads the country in points per game (24.7), player efficiency rating (37.76), 30+ point games (7), 22+ point games (16), and field goals made (210). He ranks 13th nationally in double-doubles (10) and ninth in free throws made (97).

The native of Washington, D.C., became Iowa’s all-time leading scorer in Iowa’s last outing against Penn State on Sunday. Garza broke the school’s 32-year old record, reaching Roy Marble’s benchmark of 2,116 points 15 games faster than Marble. In addition to ranking first in career scoring, Garza is first at Iowa in conference scoring (1,324), total field goals made (799), field goal attempts (1,461), and 40-point games (2); second in 30-point games (12); fifth in double-doubles (31); sixth in rebounding (856); seventh in blocked shots (140); eighth in free throw makes (420); and 15th in 3-pointers made (108).

Garza reached 2,000 points in 113 games, faster than any other Big Ten player over the last 25 years. He is the only men’s basketball player in Big Ten history to accumulate 2,000 points, 850 rebounds, 125 blocked shots, and 100 3-pointers and he is the only player from a major conference with those numbers dating back to the 1992-93 season. Garza is the only Hawkeye in school history to amass four 400-point seasons and he is one of 11 Hawkeyes with two 500-point seasons.

Garza is on the Wooden Award Late-Season Top 20, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award Top 10, Lute Olson Award Mid-Season Top 35, and Naismith Player of the Year Award watch lists. Last season, Garza was recognized as the National Player of the Year by six national media outlets, the Pete Newell Big Man and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year, Big Ten Player of the Year, and District VI Player of the Year.

Garza and the Hawkeyes (17-6, 11-5) will face No. 3 Michigan (16-1, 11-1) on Thursday. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. (CT) at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

2021 Senior CLASS Award Men’s Basketball Finalists

Manny Camper, Siena

Ross Cummings, Mercer

Cam Davis, United States Naval Academy

Marcus Garrett, Kansas

Luka Garza, IOWA         

Colin Gillespie, Villanova

Corey Kispert, Gonzaga

Cameron Krutwig, Loyola (IL)

Oscar da Silva, Stanford University

Justin Turner, Bowling Green State