By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com
Iowa City — University of Iowa senior Luka Garza has been named the recipient of the 2021 Naismith Trophy, the most prestigious individual basketball honor presented annually to college basketball’s most outstanding player.
The most dominant player in men’s college basketball, Garza has been named national player of the year by all of the major organizations and publications, including the Associated Press, National Association of Basketball Coaches, United States Basketball Writers Association (Oscar Robertson Trophy), Sporting News, Basketball Times, and The Athletic.
Iowa’s first two-time unanimous consensus first-team All-American is also a finalist for the John R. Wooden Award, which will be announced on Tuesday.
The two-time Big Ten Player of the Year broke Iowa’s 32-year old scoring record held by Roy Marble in February.
He finished his Hawkeye career with 2,306 points, which ranks seventh-best in Big Ten history.