Garza's Decision Is One Of The Biggest Remaining In College Basketball

Iowa waits to see if center will return for senior season.

Luka Garza still has a month to make up his mind about whether to take his name out of the NBA Draft process and return for his senior season at Iowa.

The center was a consensus All-American last season and won national player of the year honors from six news outlets. If he returns, the Hawkeyes would be among the Big Ten favorites and among the top 10 teams nationally in the preseason polls.

Garza's decision ranked No. 2 on the list of ESPN's Jeff Borzello's biggest remaining offseason decisions.

Borzello wrote:

"Representing the single biggest decision that will impact the college basketball landscape next season, Luka Garza will enter the campaign as the Wooden Award favorite if he decides to return to Iowa for his senior year. He told ESPN's Myron Medcalf in May that he wouldn't leave if it's too risky. Garza doesn't appear in ESPN's mock draft, which could be considered "risky." I've always been under the impression that Garza would return to the Hawkeyes next season, which is why I have them at No. 5 in the current Way-Too-Early Top 25. Without Garza, they might not even be a preseason top-25 team despite the return of four other starters and Jordan Bohannon, who played just 10 games last season. Garza's return would give Fran McCaffery one of the nation's best offenses once again."

Garza averaged 23.9 points per game overall and 26 points per game in Big Ten play. If he comes back, Iowa would have five starters returning and one of the most experienced lineups in the nation.