Luka Garza is the best player to ever play for the university of Iowa
- Thread starter HawkeyeInCentralIowa
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He is the best player since the NBA started allowing players to enter the draft early. And, he may indeed be the best of all time. But Ronnie, Roy, BJ, all played against talent that would have already been in the NBA under today's rules.
I won't say Luka's not the GOAT. He has worked extremely hard to get where he is. But an uneven field is difficult to judge.
I won't say Luka's not the GOAT. He has worked extremely hard to get where he is. But an uneven field is difficult to judge.
Did you watch Ronnie play? Ronnie's last season at Iowa was 41 years ago (March, 1980).
So, its easy to call Luka the GOAT when you have never seen Ronnie play.
I did not get to watch Ronnie play but from what I have been told, he was an amazing player, PG and scorer.
Again, thru 99 games, Ronnie scored more than Luka, and there was no 3 point shot or shot clock back then.
Lute Olson said Ronnie was the best PG he ever coached and Lute coached a lot of good ones who went on to the NBA.
Ronnie was so good that he made those around him better where it led to greatness that Iowa fans have not seen since: a B1G title one year and a Final Four the next year.
Another thing I keep hearing: If Ronnie had not gotten injured in the 1980 Final Four, Iowa would have won the National Championship.
Ronnie was that good.
Here is what I appreciate about Luka Garza. We all talk about how hard you have to work to get ahead in life. We recognize it but rarely do anything to actually help ourselves get ahead in the way Luka has.
If any of your kids have aspirations to be great at any level, it takes the dedication that Garza puts in. He is a below average athlete and would have been an average Big Ten player (which is nothing to scoff at!) However, he has absolutely worked himself into a top player in the nation. He deserved the awards last year and will be in a dog fight with Ayo this year. Total credit to Luka for being driven, his dad for his teaching, the Iowa coaching staff for recruiting and developing him, and all other individual personal trainers he has had.
Luka will forever be one of our favorite Hawks and that #55 better be up in the rafters next year.
If any of your kids have aspirations to be great at any level, it takes the dedication that Garza puts in. He is a below average athlete and would have been an average Big Ten player (which is nothing to scoff at!) However, he has absolutely worked himself into a top player in the nation. He deserved the awards last year and will be in a dog fight with Ayo this year. Total credit to Luka for being driven, his dad for his teaching, the Iowa coaching staff for recruiting and developing him, and all other individual personal trainers he has had.
Luka will forever be one of our favorite Hawks and that #55 better be up in the rafters next year.
You make a great case
I hear the same thing from others who argue Ronnie will always be the GOAT.
Again, Ronnie last played for Iowa 41 years ago; people just don't realize how good he was.
I saw Ronnie play. Before Luka came along, I would have said it was Ronnie and then everyone else - at least among the guys I saw play. It's a tough call between the two. They're very different players from different eras. It would have been interesting to see what Ronnie could do with the kind of spacing in today's game. No three-point line back then.
Two guys I never saw play, but who might deserve consideration for Iowa GOAT, are Don Nelson and Fred Brown. Even without a three-point line, Nellie's junior and senior PPG is right with Luka - 23.8 both seasons - and he averaged 2.7 better than Luka during their sophomore years. (Freshmen were ineligible during Nellie's day.) Fred averaged 27.1 as a senior, and may have averaged 30+ with a three-point line. He was only a Hawk for two seasons, however.
Two guys I never saw play, but who might deserve consideration for Iowa GOAT, are Don Nelson and Fred Brown. Even without a three-point line, Nellie's junior and senior PPG is right with Luka - 23.8 both seasons - and he averaged 2.7 better than Luka during their sophomore years. (Freshmen were ineligible during Nellie's day.) Fred averaged 27.1 as a senior, and may have averaged 30+ with a three-point line. He was only a Hawk for two seasons, however.
Your recency bias is showing. Luka just broke a record so he's the automatic GOAT?
Lester played 4 years, just like Luka. So, comparing Ronnie's first 99 games to Luka's first 99 games is the accurate comparison.
Woolridge was amazing. He literally carried that 1997 team on his wide shoulders.
very fair points.
holy crap, in 1987, 1988, and 1989, the B1G was loaded with players.
And in 1987, that UNLV team we lost to in the Elite 8 was loaded, too
Memory issues?
Like I said, crown away. I don't care who wins as long as its a Hawkeye!
LOL
Not memory issues, FFS Ronnie is only 62 (as am I).Memory issues?
Like I said, crown away. I don't care who wins as long as its a Hawkeye!
LOL
Ronnie is definitely the greatest PG ever at Iowa. Not even close. But Luka did what he did carrying a 10 lb cist as a sophomore. Think what he could have done with a healthy year.
Yeah, but he still has the NCAAs remaining. If the Hawks don't make the Final Four then Ronnie is probably still the GOAT, but if they do? Then they are at least co-GOATs. If Iowa wins it all this year? Garza will stand alone at the top.
I saw every one of them play and I think Lester is the best, followed closely by Luka. Magic Johnson said Ronnie was the best guard he played against in college. If Ronnie would have had two good legs we would have a banner in the rafters from 1980.
I think Mike "Tree" Henry deserves an honorable mention. Some old-timers here may remember the first time Tree was getting into a game his freshman season. He was visibly excited about it, and then proceeded to pull down his uniform shorts along with his warm-up pants. He pulled them back up quickly, but it was a full moon. Tree got a huge ovation and was a fan favorite thereafter.
I forgot about Magic saying that.
Iowa shared the 1979 B1G Championship, correct? Well Iowa won the 1979 B1G Championship and Magic/Michigan State won the 1979 National Championship.
And Iowa likely wins the 1980 National Championship with a healthy Lester.
Damn, the B1G was loaded back then.
Ronnie and Luka both seem like great guys.Both were/are great Hawks. Thats good enough for me.
Like a sailor. Just an expression, not anger.
Totally different players,.. I wouldn't pick one over the other.
Hard to rank Ronnie, Luka and Roy as they were very different players. I'd have to put Ronnie and Luka tied at #1, with Roy at #2
Luka is almost unstoppable once he gets position and he can also shoot it from outside. Ronnie was simply the smoothest guy I've ever seen with the ball. Looked like he was skating on ice...he just glided and was deceptively quick. With no 3 point line during Ronnie's era it's hard to tell what kind of shooter he was/may have been. (that also wasn't his role on Lute's teams). I think Luka gets the slight edge because of the way he can step out and hit the 3. An Inside/Outside big man is hard to defend.
Nellie was outstanding and not even mentioned is Chuck Darling who averaged 25.5 ppg as a senior, was a number 1 NBA draft pick who chose not to play and instead went to the NIBL and starred and was a member of the gold medal winning 1956 Olympic Basketball team.
Luka has to played super, and I doubt you can name anyone who worked harder , I never got to see JJ play or Freddie Brown, but Lester was the best I ever saw play for the Hawks
I saw both Ronnie and Luka play their entire careers and I would bet if you asked either one of them this question, they would both hand the award to the other.
It's very interesting that, when many of the greats of the NBA are asked who is the GOAT, they say Larry Bird, while the general public argue about it being either Jordan, Lebron, or Bryant. Goes to show you that fans generally don't understand the intricacies or are just distracted by the shiny object.
In fairness he did miss a few games from a sprained ankle as a soph I believe, but he's certainly answered the bell, being beaten on nightly or coming back from surgery......
I love the way Luka plays -- he has made himself into one of the best who have ever played at Iowa. But I am old enough to remember what Don Nelson did in the 60-61 season when 4 starters were declared ineligible, leaving Nellie with some football players, walk-ons and inexperienced subs and carried them to a second place finish in the the Big Ten with an 18-6 record. First place went to OSU with Jerry Lucas, Mel Nowell, Larry Siegfried, John Havlichek and 6th man Bobby Knight. And of course I enjoyed the best PG in the Big Ten, Ronnie Lester, lead the Hawks to the Final Four. It was a different time for both of those players, guys stayed in school and the competition was much tougher. No taking anything away from Luka but he is a man often playing against players 2 to 4 years younger.
