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Luka Garza pens heartfelt goodbye to Iowa in social media post
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Luka Garza’s college basketball career came to an end on Monday afternoon in Indianapolis. The two-time B1G Player of the Year and National Player of the Year finalist scored 36 points and grabbed 9 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough to lead Iowa past Oregon, falling 95-80 in the Round of 32.
Now, Garza turns the chapter to the next journey, the 2021 NBA Draft. But before he prepares for the professional ranks, the Iowa center penned a heartfelt goodbye after spending the last four seasons in a Hawkeye uniform.
“The University of Iowa changed my life forever. I’m so thankful for all the teammates, coaches, and people I got to be around for the best 4 years of my life,” Garza wrote on Instagram. “We went from being one of the worst teams in the big ten my freshman year, to a 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. I’m heartbroken that I couldn’t lead this team to where it deserved to be, but I put everything I had into my four years here. Now it’s time to prove more doubters wrong.”
Garza leaves Iowa as the men’s basketball all-time leading scorer and will have his No. 55 jersey retired at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. He averaged 24.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.6 blocks in his final year with the Hawkeyes.
Iowa finished the year with a 22-9 record, a third-place finish in the B1G standings and a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB