Luka Garza ABC Video

[hawk_it]

Going to be another Great Iowa Hawkeye! His coach has some really nice things to say about Luka. You get a glimpse of his personality. Thanks Luka for choosing Iowa!

http://wjla.com/sports/rising-stars/rising-star-luka-garza

 

[thirteenandtwo]

this guy looks like he's 30 years old

 

[Hawk_82]

I loved the frog mural painted on the wall of the gym. that was awesome

 

[Hawksfor3]

Good stuff.

 

[HawkLogic]

His standing reach must be better than Woody or he has a couple more inches on his vertical, because he can dunk it without a running start.

 

[HawkAttackDial911]

His standing reach must be better than Woody or he has a couple more inches on his vertical, because he can dunk it without a running start.

Woodbury had a 6'9" wingspan and Garza's was last reported as 7'0". For comparison purposes, Christian Williams has a 6'11" wingspan. Crazy how abnormally short Woody's arms were.

 

[DavenportHawk8]

Is he playing against good competition out there in DC? It looked like he was playing against some small schools.

Kid looks college ready. He has the shoulders to put on some muscle and could be a BIG body in the paint.

 

[EastIowaHawk]

I worry about the competition he is playing against. One of the teams they beat is Siddwell Friends. That's the Quaker-founded school in the Washington- Maryland area where the Obama girls, Bush girls and many, many of the top D.C. intellectuals' kids go. They are certainly not known for sports.

Maret is a private school with kindergarten through 12th grade all on one campus-- 650 students in all, so about 200- 300 in four- year high school, maybe about the size of Regina or Western Christian in Iowa. About 2A size in Iowa. 3A in Iowa goes up to about 700 (four-year), so 2A would be about right. So, outside of AAU, etc., he is not playing the same level of competition as Bohannon, Cook or Pemsl in our freshman class. When one thinks of power schools in the DC area-- he's not on that type of team. To be top 150 he must have turned some heads, however. I mean, in Iowa, Jess Setttles, Raef LaFrentz and others came out of even smaller schools.

 

[unIowa]

I worry about the competition he is playing against. One of the teams they beat is Siddwell Friends. That's the Quaker-founded school in the Washington- Maryland area where the Obama girls and many, many of the top D.C. intellectuals' kids go.

Maret is a Catholic,p rivate school with kindergarten through 12th grade all on one campus-- 650 students in all, so about 250- 300 in high school, maybe about the size of Regina or Western Chrstian in Iowa.

He is a top 100 (or close kid), he will be fine.

 

[EduNeerHawk]

He is a top 100 (or close kid), he will be fine.

Yes.....like Kriener whose competition with play was discussed too much last year at this time ....Luka will be more than fine. Check out his AAU play....and the kid just keeps getting better and better. He's a big boy which is just what this roster needs

 

[CanadaHawk]

Going to be another Great Iowa Hawkeye! His coach has some really nice things to say about Luka. You get a glimpse of his personality. Thanks Luka for choosing Iowa!

http://wjla.com/sports/rising-stars/rising-star-luka-garza

For future reference, note the height comparison the reporter made in the video. He's 5'11"- back to back with Luca, who's a foot taller at 6'11".

 

[EastIowaHawk]

He reminds me a lot of Kriener in the way he plays.

 

[CanadaHawk]

He reminds me a lot of Kriener in the way he plays.

It seems obvious that Kriener/Garza were recruited to play one frontcourt position and Cook/Pemsl another. Garza appears to be a little taller and longer than Kriener. Looking forward to the competition bringing the best out of these guys.

 

[otnorot]

I worry about the competition he is playing against. One of the teams they beat is Siddwell Friends. That's the Quaker-founded school in the Washington- Maryland area where the Obama girls, Bush girls and many, many of the top D.C. intellectuals' kids go. They are certainly not known for sports.
.

Even the fanciest private schools in the DC area recruit a few basketball players. Josh Hart played at Sidwell. They have at least two kids on their team this year that will play Division I, albeit not in major conferences.

Not too many 6-11 kids to go around, but Maret plays in a decent league.

 

[EastIowaHawk]

Thanks, otnorot.

 

[VodkaSam]

Excited to get this kid in Black & Gold next year. A great pick up by Fran.

 

[Obviously Oblivious]

Pretty smooth and athletic for a big man. He'll be fine.

 

[hawkeye122671]

I'm excited as heck about Garza. He's way more put together than a lot of 7 footers. His body seems college ready. Cannot wait. Future looks bright for sure.

 

[HoustonREDHawk]

With big guys hard work and attitude can lead to very good things. Garza will be a very nice addition at center for the Hawks.

 

[hawk_it]

It seems obvious that Kriener/Garza were recruited to play one frontcourt position and Cook/Pemsl another. Garza appears to be a little taller and longer than Kriener. Looking forward to the competition bringing the best out of these guys.

Yeah, very easily see Kriener/Garza @ the 5, Cook/Pemsl/Wagner/Uhl/Nunge @ the 4, Uhl/Wagner @ 3 on occasions.

 

[EastIowaHawk]

There is going to be some brutal competition next year with all the contenders at the four and five. Unless Fran plays 12 guys a game to keep all our bigs and guards happy, some of our "favorite players" will either be red-shirted, leave, or will be grousing on the pines. Fran's going to have some extremely tough decisions regarding playing time and you can be certain that guys like Cook and Pemsl are going to be looking for more, not less, playing time. We will most likely be improved next year, but I think that next season is going to provide a considerable amount of drama. Just my opinion, but based on the skill and competition-level they play against, our incoming trio of freshmen will probably see playing time in this order, from most to least: McCaffery, Nunge, Garza. I repeat, just my guess, from watching these kids in person or seeing video. People are underestimating McCaffery- Connor- who is playing at a higher level than Bohannon did as a senior in high school, and he's six inches taller and quicker.

 

[DodgerHawki]

There is going to be some brutal competition next year with all the contenders at the four and five. Unless Fran plays 12 guys a game to keep all our bigs and guards happy, some of our "favorite players" will either be red-shirted, leave, or will be grousing on the pines. Fran's going to have some extremely tough decisions regarding playing time and you can be certain that guys like Cook and Pemsl are going to be looking for more, not less, playing time. We will most likely be improved next year, but I think that next season is going to provide a considerable amount of drama. Just my opinion, but based on the skill and competition-level they play against, our incoming trio of freshmen will probably see playing time in this order, from most to least: McCaffery, Nunge, Garza. I repeat, just my guess, from watching these kids in person or seeing video. People are underestimating McCaffery- Connor- who is playing at a higher level than Bohannon did as a senior in high school, and he's six inches taller and quicker.

You could be right. The opportunity for a ball-handling guard to play minutes next year is greater than for a big guy. As you indicate, 12 guys aren't going to play. So either guys get redshirted, leave or don't play much. It's part of the process.

 

[DodgerHawki]

Yes.....like Kriener whose competition with play was discussed too much last year at this time ....Luka will be more than fine. Check out his AAU play....and the kid just keeps getting better and better. He's a big boy which is just what this roster needs

The reason folks talked about Kriener's level of play was that he didn't make the impact that Garza has on the AAU circuit. Kriener has been a pleasant surprise. His ceiling is probably lower than Garza's due to being a few inches shorter. Note: that doesn't make me a hater.

 

[Ronman]

Isn't Nunge projected to be a 3?