Garza Named To Robertson, Naismith Lists

Iowa center among players in contention for national player of the year awards.

Iowa center Luka Garza was named to the midseason watch lists for the Oscar Robertson and Naismith trophies, awarded to the top player in men's college basketball.

Garza is one of 12 semifinalists for the Oscar Robertson Trophy and one of 30 players listed for the Naismith College Player of the Year Award.

The Oscar Robertson Trophy is awarded by the United States Basketball Writers Association.

Garza also is a finalist for the Wooden Award, Lute Olson National Player of the Year Award and theKareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award.

Garza, a 6-foot-11 junior, ranks first nationally with 10 20-point/10-rebound games this season, fourth in scoring (23.1), third in points per 40 minutes played (30.2), 13th in double-doubles (13), and 34th rebounding (9.9).

His 13 double-doubles are the most by a Hawkeye in a single season since Reggie Evans’ 18 during the 2001-02 season. Garza is one of only two players in the nation averaging 23 points and 9.9 rebounds per game.

Garza, who leads the Big Ten in scoring, has 555 points, the most by a Hawkeye to start a season in 49 years. He is the first Hawkeye since Fred Brown in 1971 to score 20 or more points in nine consecutive Big Ten games.

Garza is one of three Big Ten players to have five or more 25-point/10-rebound performances in the same season since the 2009-10 season, joining Purdue’s Caleb Swanigan (2016-17) and Ohio State’s Evan Turner (2009-10). He has scored 25 points or more nine times this season, including five of the last eight games, and has has 10 or more rebounds in 12 games and 12 or more rebounds eight times this season.

Ten semifinalists for the Naismith Trophy will be announced on March 5, and the finalists will be announced on March 17. The winner of the Naismith Trophy for Men’s Player of the Year will be announced on April 5 at the Naismith Awards Brunch in Atlanta.

In March, the USBWA will announce its 2019-20 All-America Team and, at that time, finalists will also be chosen for the player of the year. The Oscar Robertson Trophy will be presented at the NCAA Final Four in Atlanta in April and the winner will be honored at the USBWA Awards Dinner on April 13 at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis.