Bohnenkamp: Luka Garza Takes Rightful Place in Carver-Hawkeye Arena Rafters

Iowa's All-Time Leading Scorer Enjoys Uniform Retirement Ceremony Tuesday

Luka Garza stood at center court of Carver-Hawkeye Arena and applauded the Iowa fans as enthusiastically as they applauded him on Tuesday night.

Garza, Iowa’s leading scorer, watched the videos commemorating his career. When Iowa coach Fran McCaffery, on one of the videos, said he considered Garza “family,” Garza nodded in agreement.

And when the banner displaying Garza’s retired jersey number 55 unfurled, the big center blinked back tears.

Garza, the consensus national player of the year last season, had received his biggest honor as a Hawkeye.

“For the rest of my life, coming in here and seeing that,” Garza said, pointing to the banner, “that’s incredible.”

It was a moment that was built from the moment Garza committed to the Hawkeyes, when he was a top-100 recruit and he had his name spelled wrong.

The numbers make sure everyone will remember Luka Garza.

Seeing his number hanging from the rafters was the perfect moment.

“That number, obviously, means a lot to me and my family,” Garza said before the ceremony. “I put everything I had into that jersey for four years. To see that go up in the rafters is something I’ll never forget.”

Garza’s career can be defined by the numbers — 2,306 points for his career, 747 points in his senior season, 740 points in 2020. The 870 field goals. The 931 rebounds.

But it was the way he worked to get those numbers that still impacts the Hawkeyes a year after he last played.

“He’s an inspiration,” guard Joe Toussaint said on Monday. “He’s not the fastest, the tallest, not the biggest, not the most skilled. He just works hard. He inspired me. I come in here and work on my game every day. He was the person who inspired me to do that.

“I came here, saw how hard he worked. I added that to my life. That’s what I want for myself. He’s a really good inspiration.”

“It was probably just the things he taught me,” forward Kris Murray said. “He didn’t have to say much to me. It was just his effort and attitude every single day that he brought. That effort never lapsed at any point of the year. Every practice, he gave his best. And that kind of resonated on me, the kind of work ethic he had.”

It’s something that impressed coach Fran McCaffery right away, why McCaffery went after him when other Power 5 teams shied away until it was too late.

The bond between the coach and the player is something that has impacted both.

“It’s as special a relationship as I've had in this profession on so many different levels, and it's always particularly rewarding when you watch someone work as hard as he has and develop into the player that he became, which is the best player in the country,” McCaffery said Monday. “That's really hard to do.”

“He recruited me when a lot of other coaches turned me down,” Garza said. “He saw something in me, and I will always be indebted to him and his family.”

Garza’s best season was his last, and he did it in front of empty arenas because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The chance to watch his masterpieces got away from those who would have appreciated it.

It’s why Garza viewed Tuesday’s ceremony as a chance to celebrate with them.

“It’s such an amazing feeling to play in front of those fans,” Garza said. “To not have that for a year is something that’s going to sting for a while. But, for me, to be able to see that is going to mean the world for me.”

The work, now, is being done with the NBA’s Detroit Pistons and their G-League team. Garza changed his frame to be less of a post presence and more of a perimeter player.

He’s started games, played 40 minutes — still a work in progress, he said, just at a different level.

Tuesday wasn’t a goodbye to his past. It was a celebration.

“I’d say it was incredible. I loved every single second of it,” Garza said of his time with the Hawkeyes. “You can’t even script it. I’m so thankful.

Garza kept going back to McCaffery, and the faith he had.

“If he hadn’t recruited me, I don’t know if I would have been in Iowa ever,” Garza said. “I fell in love with it.

“It’s home for me.”

How, Garza was asked, would he like to be remembered at Iowa?

“Someone that took an opportunity that was given to him, and worked hard to maximize it,” Garza said. “I think that’s the biggest thing.

“If anything, I want to be known as someone who worked harder than anyone else.”

Of that, there is no doubt.