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Big Ten basketball: Top 15 players for the 2019-20 season

By Austin Walther

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 06: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans talks with Cassius Winston #5 in the second half against the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the 2019 NCAA Final Four semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 6, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 06: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans talks with Cassius Winston #5 in the second half against the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the 2019 NCAA Final Four semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 6, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images
Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images /

14. Luka Garza, Junior, Center, Iowa

Luka Garza was very underappreciated as a freshman. Iowa just struggled to find its identity all season. He scored over 12 points per game, hauled in 6.4 boards and blocked 32 shots. The guy can also stretch out and knock down the occasional three-pointer. Those are some impressive number by a freshman who was barely ranked inside the top-100 to be starting 26 out of 33 games.

Garza basically traded in a knockdown on his numbers for team success. Iowa found themselves comfortably in the field almost all season long. Both of their Tournament games were exciting ones and they almost upset the two-seeded Tennessee Volunteers.

Garza’s scoring did go up from freshman year to sophomore by one point per game. His rebounding took a hit by two points, but that was thanks to Tyler Cook having an unreal season. I’m not sure what to think of his block shots being cut in half, but he’s still comfortable with his three-point shot and continued to shoot over 60 percent from the field.

Cook is gone after he decided to go to the NBA. That will certainly help Garza’s numbers, but the team may struggle a bit. There are some other promising young guys who are going to take the next step, but again, Bohannon’s injury will damper their season. Either way, Garza should remain steady at 13 points per game, his rebounding looking more like his freshman year and hopefully his shot-blocking comes back.

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