Relationship was key for Garza
Tom Kakert | Editor
Luka Garza says the relationship with Fran McCaffery was key to picking Iowa.
NBPA
Luka Garza had a plan this weekend and he executed it exactly the way he wanted.
The 2017 center from Washington, D.C. had actually let Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery know late last week that he intended to make a verbal commitment to the Hawkeyes.
In a day and age when secrets are hard to keep, Garza kept this one to himself and his family and while down on the field of Kinnick Stadium with Coach McCaffery and the Iowa coaches around him, he tweeted that he would be a Hawkeye next year.
“It was hard to keep it to myself for a week,” Garza said. “We kind of planned it out and my dad’s birthday was yesterday. He has meant so much to me thru my life and helping me in the recruiting process, so I wanted to announce on his birthday. So I put it out there when I was on the football field with him and the coaches and it just felt like a good way to announce it.”
The recruiting process for Garza in some ways had come full circle. Iowa was the first major college program to offer Garza back in June of 2015, when McCaffery saw him a couple of times, first at an AAU event and then at the Nike Top 100 underclassmen event in St. Louis.
“It was kind of like that. Even with all those other schools, I always thought highly of Iowa and I knew they would be there until the end and they were.”
This spring with dozens of new offers from the likes of Louisville, Georgetown, Indiana, and Notre Dame, Garza blew up as a hot target on the recruiting trail. His stock went thru the roof and he went from unranked to the #134 player in the Rivals Top 150 for 2017. At the end of the day, it was the relationship with McCaffery and the Iowa coaches that got him to pick the Hawkeyes.
“My relationship with Coach McCaffery and the rest of the coaching staff was really strong. They offered me early and there was really no comparison in terms of the relationship I had with the Iowa coaches and other coaching staffs that recruited me,” Garza said.
Rivals.com’s national recruiting analyst Eric Bossi likes what he has seen from Garza on the AAU circuit in the past year and thinks he will be a very good center prospect.
“I think he is a guy that can fit into a stretch five/center category,” Bossi said. “He is a big and strong kid that shoots it very well. He has a good skill level with either hand. He might not be the world’s greatest athlete, but he’s strong, skilled, and knows how to play in the post and is efficient down on the block.”
For Garza, the end of the recruiting process is a relief for him.
“It’s a big sense of relief. I am very excited and relived and now I can focus on my senior season and improving as a player.”
Tom Kakert | Editor
Luka Garza says the relationship with Fran McCaffery was key to picking Iowa.
NBPA
Luka Garza had a plan this weekend and he executed it exactly the way he wanted.
The 2017 center from Washington, D.C. had actually let Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery know late last week that he intended to make a verbal commitment to the Hawkeyes.
In a day and age when secrets are hard to keep, Garza kept this one to himself and his family and while down on the field of Kinnick Stadium with Coach McCaffery and the Iowa coaches around him, he tweeted that he would be a Hawkeye next year.
“It was hard to keep it to myself for a week,” Garza said. “We kind of planned it out and my dad’s birthday was yesterday. He has meant so much to me thru my life and helping me in the recruiting process, so I wanted to announce on his birthday. So I put it out there when I was on the football field with him and the coaches and it just felt like a good way to announce it.”
The recruiting process for Garza in some ways had come full circle. Iowa was the first major college program to offer Garza back in June of 2015, when McCaffery saw him a couple of times, first at an AAU event and then at the Nike Top 100 underclassmen event in St. Louis.
“It was kind of like that. Even with all those other schools, I always thought highly of Iowa and I knew they would be there until the end and they were.”
This spring with dozens of new offers from the likes of Louisville, Georgetown, Indiana, and Notre Dame, Garza blew up as a hot target on the recruiting trail. His stock went thru the roof and he went from unranked to the #134 player in the Rivals Top 150 for 2017. At the end of the day, it was the relationship with McCaffery and the Iowa coaches that got him to pick the Hawkeyes.
“My relationship with Coach McCaffery and the rest of the coaching staff was really strong. They offered me early and there was really no comparison in terms of the relationship I had with the Iowa coaches and other coaching staffs that recruited me,” Garza said.
Rivals.com’s national recruiting analyst Eric Bossi likes what he has seen from Garza on the AAU circuit in the past year and thinks he will be a very good center prospect.
“I think he is a guy that can fit into a stretch five/center category,” Bossi said. “He is a big and strong kid that shoots it very well. He has a good skill level with either hand. He might not be the world’s greatest athlete, but he’s strong, skilled, and knows how to play in the post and is efficient down on the block.”
For Garza, the end of the recruiting process is a relief for him.
“It’s a big sense of relief. I am very excited and relived and now I can focus on my senior season and improving as a player.”
