Garza Has Seen, And Been Hit By, Everything

Ryan Kriener said the bar has been raised by the toughness of Iowa center Luka Garza.

Garza suffered a badly cut lip in the Hawkeyes' 72-61 win over Texas Tech in the Las Vegas Invitational, got a few stitches in the tunnel (with no pain medication, by the way), then came back into the game and finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds.

In last Thursday's 84-68 win at Iowa State, Garza was hit in the mouth by an errant elbow from teammate Joe Wieskamp. More blood, a lot of pain, and a loose tooth that has since been wired back into place. Garza, of course, came back on the court moments later and finished the game, a 21-point, 11-rebound night.

So, according to Kriener, no Hawkeye is going to be able to be knocked out of a game this season.

"I think we have to (keep playing), because if we don’t, we’ll catch some flack from him — ‘I almost lost a tooth against Iowa State, and I was out there two minutes later,'" Kriener joked on Thursday. "I guess it’s going to raise everybody’s toughness."

No one has taken more hits than Garza this season. The 6-foot-11 junior has been knocked around by opponents and the occasional teammate, faced a concoction of defenses from other teams, and is still averaging a Big Ten best 22.4 points along with 9.9 rebounds per game.

"He’s obviously a really strong guy," Wieskamp said. "He’s really physical in the post. He’s going to get some elbows in the face, but he’s also going to give them as well. That’s the kind of player he is. Nothing’s going to stop him from staying in the game. He got hit in the tooth last game, and he comes right back in.

"It’s going to take a lot to keep him out of the game."

"You either have that in you or you don’t," Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said."With him, it’s never a thought that he wouldn’t come back in. To be truthful, in both cases, I don’t think anyone would have blamed Luka (for not coming back). I don’t know of many guys who get their lip stitched back together without any pain medication. That’s a different kind of person right there. If he did get pain medication, he wouldn’t have been able to come back in. ‘Just stitch it up, go ahead.’

"The whole tooth thing, that’s painful. (But) if he wants to go back in, he’ll go back in. Fix his tooth later."

For the record, Garza said he wouldn't recommend getting stitches without something to numb the pain.

"There’s a lot of adrenaline going when you’re trying to get back in the game," he said. "It was pretty painful. You could feel (the needle) going in and out."

Garza is wearing a mouthpiece now, although he's not comfortable with it.

"I’ve been trying to use it in practice," he said. "I don’t really like it. But I have to deal with it."

Dealing with whatever has gotten Garza through this season.

He knows what's going to be coming at him the rest of this season, especially once the bulk of the Big Ten schedule begins in early January.

"No one is going to scout me like other Big Ten coaches," Garza said. "I’m excited for that challenge, honestly."

Garza has been held to single digits only once this season, a 9-point night in a loss to San Diego State the night after the stitch-and-go work in the tunnel at the Orleans Arena.

He's scored 20 or more points in seven games, including the last four, which included the 44-point game in a loss to Michigan, the third-highest scoring total in Iowa history.

Garza averaged 12.1 points as a freshman and 13.1 points last season, but Kriener knew this summer that a big season was coming.

"He was not just taking a step to be a good player, he was taking a step to be a special player," Kriener said. "Middle of the summer, we were in an open gym one day. I pride myself on being a good interior defender. I just couldn’t do anything. He was making everything. I was like, ‘Wow, if he keeps this up he’s going to be special.’

"He’s been having a hell of a year for us."

Garza has been the main frontcourt scoring option in the absence of forward Tyler Cook, who left after last season to pursue a professional basketball career.

"He came here, he was an impact player right away," McCaffery said of Garza. "You get into your junior year, you have an expanded role, Cook’s not here, I don’t think it’s that surprising. I expected him to do it. He expected to do it."

Can he do more?

"Oh yeah," McCaffery said. "I think the next challenge for him is doing it on nights when teams are focused on stopping him. And that’s not easy."

Nothing, of course, has been easy for Garza this season.

That hasn't surprised Kriener. Although maybe one thing did.

"The lip and stitches, that one was kind of a shock," Kriener said. "He went to the tunnel for about three minutes, they put some stitches in him, and he just played. That just speaks how tough he is — there isn’t a numbing needle or anything like that.

"He’s been a man."