Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Iowa’s Garza heads list of experienced seniors
Chose final season of college over NBA draft
Iowa forward Luka Garza could have heard his name called in Wednesday night’s NBA draft. Instead, he opted for the uncertainty of playing a final college basketball season amid a pandemic.
After boosting his stock with an outstanding junior season that was cut short, Garza heads the list of standout seniors gearing up for the 2020-21 campaign.
“At the end of the day, I feel like the teams that like me this year will like me next year and will like me even more because I’ve put in a lot of work this summer and will continue to put in work and I’m always improving my game,” Garza said when he made his announcement. “It was a question that people had, if I could improve my stock any more. For me, that’s not a question. I’m always confident in myself. I feel every summer I make strides and improve my game in some way.”
Garza was the Big Ten player of the year and runner-up to Dayton’s Obi Toppin, who entered the draft, in last season’s Associated Press player of the year voting.
The 6-foot-11-inch forward averaged 23.9 points and 9.8 rebounds to join Purdue’s Joe Barry Carroll (1979) and Glenn Robinson (1994) as the only Big Ten players with at least 740 points and 300 rebounds in a single season. He was the first player since Ohio State’s Dennis Hopson in 1987 to score 20-plus points in 16 straight Big Ten games.
Garza’s return catapulted Iowa to the No. 5 spot in the Associated Press Top 25, its highest preseason ranking since opening the year No. 4 in 1955-56.
“The team that we could have and the potential, the history we could make is something that years from now I would have regretted not being a part of,” Garza said. “That definitely played a part.”
Garza, an AP preseason All-America selection, is one of several notable players who decided to return for their senior seasons after the pandemic wiped out the NCAA Tournament. Here’s a rundown of other seniors who bear watching.
Garrison Brooks, forward, North Carolina
Brooks leads the 16thranked Tar Heels after being named the Atlantic Coast Conference’s most im
proved player last season. The 6-10 forward averaged 16.8 points and 8.5 rebounds, up from 7.9 points and 5.6 rebounds as a sophomore. He averaged 18.8 points in ACC competition and became the first North Carolina player since Tyler Hansbrough in 2008 to have the ACC’s top scoring average in league games.
Jalen Crutcher, guard, Dayton
Crutcher heads into his fourth season as the Flyers’ starting point guard. He averaged 15.1 points and 4.9 assists and went 72 of 170 (42.4 percent) from 3-point range to help Dayton go 292. The Flyers were ranked third in the Top 25 when the season ended.
Marcus Garrett, guard, Kansas
Garrett averaged 9.2 points last season, but his biggest contributions are defensively. The 6-5 guard was named the Naismith national defensive player of the year. He has the ability to guard any position for the sixth-ranked Jayhawks. Garrett averaged a Big 12-leading 4.7 assists as well as 1.8 steals last season. He had 2.7 times as many assists as turnovers.
Collin Gillespie, guard, Villanova
This 6-3 guard averaged 15.1 points, 4.5 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.2 steals. Gillespie had 2.3 times as many assists as turnovers. He was a unanimous first-team selection on the preseason all-Big East team and figures to lead the third-ranked Wildcats’ backcourt.
Corey Kispert, forward, Gonzaga
The 6-foot-7-inch Kispert earned preseason AP All-America honors as he begins his final season with the top-ranked Bulldogs. Kispert averaged 13.9 points last season and shot 78 of 178 (43.8 percent) from 3-point range. He was named one of five finalists for the Julius Erving small forward of the year award.
Remy Martin, guard, Arizona State
Martin is an AP All-America preseason selection who earned first-team all-Pac-12 notice last year. The 6-foot Martin averaged 19.1 points and 4.1 assists as a junior. His return helped No. 18 Arizona State make only its second preseason appearance in the AP Top 25 over the last 29 years.