Iowa’s Garza tops AllAmerica

Iowa’s Luke Garza was the lone unanimous selection on the Associated Press preseason AllAmerica team Wednesday, one of many awards the 6foot11 forward has received prior to his senior season.

Garza ( 23.9 points, 9.8 rebounds per game) was joined on the team by Baylor senior Jared Butler, Oklahoma State freshman Cade Cunningham and Illinois junior Ayo Dosunmu. Seniors Corey Kispert of Gonzaga and Arizona State’s Remy Martin tied for the final spot. 1 Juwan Howard’s coaching acumen was not in doubt when he became Michigan’s head coach in 2019. He played 19 NBA seasons and spent six seasons as a Miami Heat assistant under Erik Spoelstra.

The biggest question in Howard’s return to his alma mater was whether he could recruit at a high level. Howard’s 2021 class, rated No. 1 in the 247Sports composite, leaves no doubt.

The first day of the early signing period was Wednesday. Howard’s sixplayer class is headlined by Caleb Houstan, a 6foot8 Canadian forward, the No. 8 overall recruit in the country. He will be joined by another fivestar recruit, Moussa Diabate, a 610 French forward who’s rated No. 20 nationally. 1 Other recruiting highlights: Villanova head coach Jay Wright has the No. 4 overall recruiting class, topped by Trey Patterson, a 67 forward from Somerset, N. J., rated No. 30 nationally. ... Kentucky head coach John Calipari’s thirdranked class is headlined by fivestar forward Daimion Collins ( No. 19 overall). ... No. 2ranked Florida State announced the signing of 71 center John Butler ( No. 55 nationally) from South Carolina. ... Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo’s class is rated No. 6 nationally, with all three players ranking in the top 75. Max Christie, a fivestar 66 shooting guard from Rolling Meadows, Ill., is highest rated at No. 15 nationally. 1 In women’s recruiting, Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer

announced the signings of four players: 62 guard Elena Bosgana ( Greek national team); 63 guard Brooke Demetre ( Foothill Ranch Mater Dei, Orange County), the No. 11rated recruit in the nation; 510 guard Jzaniya Harriel ( Sacramento Antelope) and 63 guard Kiki Iriafen ( Porter Ranch Harvard Westlake, Los Angeles). 1 Cal women’s head coach Charmin Smith announced the signing of two freshmen — 56 point guard Jayda Curry ( Centennial High School Corona, Riverside County) and 511 guard Mia Mastrov ( Miramonte HighOrinda) — and 511 forward Jadyn Bush, a graduate transfer from Harvard — for the 202122 season.

Mastrov’s grandfather, Bert, played for Basketball Hall of Famer Pete Newell and the

Bears in the 1950s.