NCAA Basketball: 10 best players from the District of Columbia of last decade

1. Luka Garza – Iowa

He wasn’t a national champion or a blue chip prospect, but there’s no denying the incredible impact that Garza had on the college game. A 6’11 forward who left DC for the Midwest, Garza arrived at Iowa in 2017 and didn’t stop until he had rewritten record books across a four-year career with the Hawkeyes.

Garza was already an important part of this Iowa team for his first two seasons, but it was his final two where he really broke the mold. As a junior, he averaged 23.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per game, while his senior year saw that first number climb to 24.1 points per game. We could spend all day going over his performances, like his 44-point effort at Michigan or a 36-point outing against Oregon in the NCAA Tournament in his final collegiate game. Clearly, Garza had a monumental impact on this Iowa squad.

The leader in a whole host of Big Ten and national statistics, Garza was twice named Big Ten Player of the Year, was twice a First Team All-American, and was the national player of the year his senior season. He ranks among the top scorers in the history of the Big Ten, all while putting up solid rebounding number and racking up double-doubles. Last year, he was drafted in the second round by the Detroit Pistons, playing in a handful of games as a rookie and starring in the G-League.

We have finally completed our run through of the ten best players from the District of Columbia across the last decade; would you change anything on our list or is there someone from DC that we forgot to include?