Will Luka go down as the most distinguished Iowa basketball player ever, but never get drafted in the first round of the NBA draft?
- Thread starter IllQChawk
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Seems unlikely he'll be picked in round 1, if at all.
Hard to imagine the program getting another player that would achieve that level of performance and individual recognition.
Meets both criteria. So yes.
Hard to imagine the program getting another player that would achieve that level of performance and individual recognition.
Meets both criteria. So yes.
Probably an unpopular opinion, maybe wrong, but if Iowa goes on a deep tournament run on Luka’s back, I could see him working his way up to a late first round, early second round pick
I think he will become a better player in the NBA than people expect him to be for one big reason, work ethics. Am pretty sure some NBA scouts see this and will notice how his footwork, midrange, and 3 point shot has improved over the past two years. Fully expect him to go late first round for those reasons. I mean, a seven footer who can probably maintain a 40% 3 point average in the NBA is ridiculous. Has any other seven footers than Dirk done that?
Difficult to imagine him not getting drafted. His shooting percentage is outstanding.
25 years ago he probably goes top 5 or 10. Different era I know.
McDermott went in first round and Garza just seems like a bigger version.
25 years ago he probably goes top 5 or 10. Different era I know.
McDermott went in first round and Garza just seems like a bigger version.
Probably, but I'd wager he plays more NBA games than did Roy Marble.
It's not as rare as you think anymore. Bobby Portis, Chris Boucher, Jokic, Embiid, Nikola Vucevic are all shooting over 40% this season so far.
Garza is 6"11 so I included guys 6"11 & taller: Brad Miller, Andrea Bargnani, Mehmet Okur, Karl-Anthony Towns, Channing Frye.
He is nothing like McDermott.
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I don’t think his game will translate well at all. His lack of athleticism will doom his NBA hopes where every player can jump out of the gym.
I’ll be happily surprised if he has an NBA career. I think he’s going to fall in the category of amazing college players that don’t translate to next level. Sort of like an Eric Crouch or Brad Banks in football.
I’ll be happily surprised if he has an NBA career. I think he’s going to fall in the category of amazing college players that don’t translate to next level. Sort of like an Eric Crouch or Brad Banks in football.
They all jump better than Luka, handle the ball better, run faster, etc....
Great kid, awesome Hawkeye, not an NBA player physically....
Honestly, he's very similar to Megan G.
This is it^^^ in the 90's he's at least a mid first rounder when skilled bigs were a need, now you just need athletic big to rebound and play defense. I love Lukas game but it just doesn't transition to the NBA. I still think carves himself our a nice little career and eventually ends up overseas.
To be fair to Garza though, he’s always been one of the less athletic players on the court and continues to be at the D1 level. He outworks everybody and is not a guy I will bet against
The arguement to that would be that he never had to face many of the guys he will have to face in the NBA. Those guys dont play even 2 years so its really hard to judge. Yes, most were more athletic, but they were not NBA athletic or NBA skilled.
I still think he sticks with a team. We will see.
Oh I definitely know the arguments against him making it. NBA teams will put him into a grinder in the pick and roll, or get him isolated onto a guard. Kind of cringe thinking about Luka trying to defend any good NBA 1 or 2... wide open shots
I’m in the same boat as you though. The guy gets buckets and is determined to do what it takes to be the best. I think he becomes a below average but passable defender and a good enough scorer to stick on a bench role
Back in the 80s, when the NBA was great and fun to watch, Luka would have fit right in. Today's game, which I pay little attention too, doesn't appear to be the right fit. I think Luka will get drafted but ends up playing overseas.
I said this in a reddit post. If Garza was born 35 years earlier with the stats and abilities he has, and he stayed all four years, he probably would have been the #1 overall pick in the '86 draft. Maybe some team picks Daugherty over him, but who else in the top 10 would you pick for the late 80s NBA knowing that Hakeem, Ewing, Moses Malone, Parrish, etc. are roaming the court?
| 1 | 1 | CLE | Brad Daugherty | UNC | 8 | 548 | 20029 | 10389 | 5227 | 2028 | .532 | .143 | .747 | 36.5 | 19.0 | 9.5 | 3.7 | 65.2 | .156 | 2.2 | 21.3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 2 | BOS | Len Bias | Maryland | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | 3 | GSW | Chris Washburn | NC State | 2 | 72 | 645 | 222 | 176 | 22 | .412 | .000 | .439 | 9.0 | 3.1 | 2.4 | 0.3 | -0.6 | -.046 | -7.4 | -0.9 |
| 4 | 4 | IND | Chuck Person | Auburn | 13 | 943 | 28941 | 13858 | 4763 | 2645 | .458 | .362 | .723 | 30.7 | 14.7 | 5.1 | 2.8 | 38.9 | .065 | -0.7 | 9.1 |
| 5 | 5 | NYK | Kenny Walker | Kentucky | 7 | 448 | 9050 | 3128 | 1793 | 299 | .485 | .206 | .749 | 20.2 | 7.0 | 4.0 | 0.7 | 17.9 | .095 | -1.8 | 0.6 |
| 6 | 6 | PHO | William Bedford | Memphis | 6 | 238 | 2514 | 964 | 573 | 109 | .416 | .318 | .605 | 10.6 | 4.1 | 2.4 | 0.5 | 0.9 | .017 | -4.8 | -1.8 |
| 7 | 7 | DAL | Roy Tarpley | Michigan | 6 | 280 | 7476 | 3533 | 2803 | 292 | .483 | .176 | .744 | 26.7 | 12.6 | 10.0 | 1.0 | 19.8 | .127 | -0.2 | 3.4 |
| 8 | 8 | CLE | Ron Harper | Miami University | 15 | 1009 | 31199 | 13910 | 4309 | 3916 | .446 | .289 | .720 | 30.9 | 13.8 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 65.8 | .101 | 1.8 | 30.3 |
| 9 | 9 | CHI | Brad Sellers | Ohio State | 6 | 398 | 7154 | 2509 | 1064 | 435 | .452 | .200 | .793 | 18.0 | 6.3 | 2.7 | 1.1 | 9.8 | .066 | -2.2 | -0.4 |
| 10 | 10 | SAS | Johnny Dawkins | Duke | 9 | 541 | 14859 | 5984 | 1336 | 2997 | .456 | .330 | .857 | 27.5 | 11.1 | 2.5 | 5.5 | 21.8 | .070 | -0.9 | 4.2 |
Several mocks are now slotting him in the back end of round 1. Which I get. If your a win now team needing a cheap player, picking up a backup C like Garza, let him come in get some points while the starter rests and then sit back down, is proably OK for a few years. Then you jettison him with the rookie deal is up.
If you're trying to tear down Iowa's most dominant BB player ever, then fnck off. He's STILL a college ball player. Post your q when you're not trying to be a glory slut and his season is done.
Drafted? Maybe
1st round? Doubt it.
He could be a productive 10-12 min guy on the right team, ie, one that has a starter with skills that Luka shares some of. I can't see him being a +defender in the NBA, but 90% of his minutes wouldn't be against the ADs, Embiids or Giannis' of the NBA. The big problem is, on the wrong team, he's just a guy. And those guys don't last long.
However, overall, I could see him having a decent career.
1st round? Doubt it.
He could be a productive 10-12 min guy on the right team, ie, one that has a starter with skills that Luka shares some of. I can't see him being a +defender in the NBA, but 90% of his minutes wouldn't be against the ADs, Embiids or Giannis' of the NBA. The big problem is, on the wrong team, he's just a guy. And those guys don't last long.
However, overall, I could see him having a decent career.
He doesn't need to be drafted. First-rounders get guaranteed three-year contracts, but if he is an undrafted free agent, he can pick his situation and sign for whatever he can get.
Agreed, but what % of guys he faces now ever play in the league?
You're lit.
I'm crazy? Of the top 10 players drafted, 5 were centers because the NBA was still a big man's league back then.
Brad Daugherty averaged 20 and 9
Chris Washburn averaged less than 18 and 7
William Bedford averaged less than 18 and 9
Roy Tarpley averaged 16 and 9
Brad Sellers averaged 20 and 13
This was back in the 80s when the refs weren't allowing guys to get obliterated in the post without calling a foul. Plus none of those guys had an outside shot since the three point line didn't exist yet in college.
Garza has averaged 24 and 9, after averaging 24 and 10 last year, during a renaissance of great big men in the Big Ten while being double or triple teamed and mauled physically every time he touches the ball, often times without a foul called. He loses 1.5 points per game because of no 3pt line, but gains several more because of the extra fouls that would be called.
So, who from that list of centers would get drafted ahead of Garza? Keeping in mind that the 3pt line does exist in the NBA, so his long range shooting ability would matter in the draft. He wouldn't be a HOFer when you compare him to the centers of that era that are HOFers, but he would likely have been a starter on a bad team with an early pick, like Cleveland who had the #1 pick that draft.
It also helps that the top of the draft in 86 was pretty weak when Len Bias died before he played a game, and five of the other top 10 guys had careers worthy of a late first or second round
Garza excelled last year against Daniel Oturu, Jalen Smith and Xavier Tillman, who are all in the league. I think you'll see Trayce Jackson-Davis, Hunter Dickinson, Kofi Cockburn and possibly others there too, not to mention guys he only played once like Drew Timme and/or Armando Bocot.
He is doing what he's doing against many current or future NBA players.
Lol, a cavalcade of stars!
I hope he succeeds in the league but he's a plodding player trying to play in the most athletic league on the planet.
It's reality, sorry.
Not a high percentage, but he’s held his own against the ones he has faced. That’s Cockburn, Jackson-Davis, and Dickinson this year. Jalen Smith has gotten some minutes this year as a rookie in Phoenix, and I could see Daniel Oturu cracking the league at some point too
Well they’re all rookies or second year players in the league, so pretty early to say. Nobody’s predicting greatness from Luka in the Association, just saying these are all guys who have cracked the league that he had success against, and that I wouldn’t put it past him to carve out a bench role
First of all, I hate the NBA now. It’s just awful basketball. I agree with the above poster that he would have done very well in the 80’s when the NBA was enjoyable to watch!
Luka will get drafted late first or second round. He will get cut and will have a great career overseas!
Luka will get drafted late first or second round. He will get cut and will have a great career overseas!
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