Luka Garza could be the missing piece for Iowa basketball next season.
Iowa basketball‘s three-year NCAA Tournament streak is on the verge of ending this season. The Hawkeyes will need to win the Big Ten tournament, barring a massive turnaround to end the season, to get in this year.
While their offense has had some ups-and-downs this season, such as only scoring 54 points against Northwestern or 64 points against Illinois, it’s been the backbone of this team. The Hawkeyes are 31st in the nation and second in the Big Ten in scoring this season at 81 points per game.
It’s the most a Fran McCaffery coached team has averaged since 2013-14 when they averaged 81.5 per game. The Hawkeyes also have the Big Ten’s leading scorer in Peter Jok.
Although, at the same time, only 51 teams in the nation give up more points per game than Iowa, who allows 77.9 points per game. It’s the most Iowa has given up in their 120 year history by more than five points.
Open threes and non-existent post defense has led to a lot of their losses. In fact, nine of Iowa’s 10 worst three-point shooting defensive games have been losses.Plus, 10 of their 11 worst defensive field-goal percentage games have resulted in losses.
Ironically, Iowa’s worst three-point defense of the season, allowing Kennesaw State to shoot 53.3 percent from three, resulted in a win.
Other than Jok, the Hawkeyes are a young team, therefore they should get better on defense as soon as next year when they have a season under their belt and another offseason to mesh. Iowa’s backcourt of Jordan Bohannon and Isaiah Moss should benefit the most and help add stability to Iowa’s poor perimeter defense.
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The Hawkeyes will still be lacking a rim protector, though. Nicholas Baer is the only player on Iowa to average at least one block per game at 1.5 per game. It has led to Iowa ranking a measly seventh in blocks in the conference, as well as 12th in two-point percentage defense.
Despite Baer’s shot blocking ability and activeness on defense, he’s not a rim protector. He’s only 6’7″ and can’t be put in the paint to intimidate the opposing team. He blocks most of his shots on help defense from behind rather than swatting away driving guards’ layups.
Last season, Adam Woodbury acted as the team’s rim protector. He made teams think twice about going into the lane and altered shots. Plus, he could step out and contest shots on the perimeter.
Despite Woodbury not panning out to be the star player many envisioned him to be, Iowa could use his size in the paint this season.
Iowa simply doesn’t have a rim protector this season, and it’s cost them when opposing team’s guards penetrate into the paint or Cordell Pemsl and Tyler Cook get beat on defense.
Ryan Kriener and Cook are Iowa’s tallest player at 6’9″ this year, but neither are known for their defense. The Hawkeyes are one of the shortest teams in the Big Ten this year, as this is the first season since 2010-11 that Iowa doesn’t have a player 6’10” or taller.
Cook has the potential to be a solid defender due to his athleticism, but he has just four blocks in 428 minutes and gets abused when teams attack him defensively in the paint. He has a long ways to go on the defensive end and it’s unlikely he ever becomes a consistent shot blocker.
That could leave the door open for incoming four-star center Luka Garza, who 247Sports ranks as the 124th best recruit and 13th best center in the nation. Some question Garza’s athleticism, but he gives Iowa much-needed size in the paint at 6’11” and 230 pounds.
From a physical standpoint, Garza is extremely similar to Woodbury, who finished his Iowa career 7’1″ and 245 pounds. Neither is a great athlete that will run the floor extremely well, but both have great size that make teams want to avoid going into the paint. In turn, it makes the backcourt’s job a lot easier, too, since they don’t have to worry as much if they get beat off the dribble.
Of course, height alone won’t buy Garza playing time, especially in a crowded frontcourt like Iowa’s. With Cook, Pemsl, Kriener, Baer, Ahmad Wagner and Dom Uhl all splitting time as it is, Garza will need to show he can contest shots without fouling and not be a liability in pick-and-roll situations.
Still, Iowa has desperately needed size all season, and they’ll finally have some on the roster in 2017-18. With the little presence in the paint Iowa’s defense has commanded this season, McCaffery’s hand might be forced into giving Garza at least a small role to start the 2017-18 season and eventually making it bigger, similar to what he did with Ryan Kriener.
Also, Garza’s mid-range game would be a nice complement to Pemsl and Cook’s post games on the offensive end while covering up some of their defensive flaws.
Next: Iowa Basketball: Brady Ellingson Starting To Find His Role
With Connor McCaffery, Jack Nunge and Joe Wieskamp also coming to Iowa over the next couple of seasons, the Hawkeyes will have a lot of options and tough choices to make in their rotation. Although, Luka Garza’s size could be enough to break into a rotation filled with a lot of young talent and potential.