When a player is great, they’ll hear it from everyone. That’s been true for Luka Garza this season.

The junior has been playing like an All-American this season, and coaches from around the conference are taking notice.

After Iowa’s Jan. 17 victory over Michigan at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Wolverine head coach Juwan Howard had high praise for the Hawkeye center.

“He’s proven that he’s one of the best college basketball players in the country,” Howard said. “I had a chance to talk with [Garza’s AAU team] Team Takeover, and they talked about how his game has improved year after year. I wish I would have had a chance to see him when he was in high school, because what I’ve witnessed thus far, the guy is a player.”

Garza scored 33 points against the Wolverines that night after scoring 44 in Iowa’s Dec. 6 loss in Ann Arbor.

Howard should know a good post player when he sees one. The first-year coach played three seasons for Michigan, including the 1991-92 “Fab Five” year. Howard would go on to play 19 seasons in the NBA.

“A guy like [Howard] is somebody I’ve looked up to my entire life,” Garza said. “Everybody knows I watched big men throughout my childhood and tried to take things from everybody’s game. He’s obviously on that list of who I’ve watched in the past and looked up to. Him saying that means the world to me.”

Garza is leading the conference with 23.1 points per game this season. He has grabbed 10.7 rebounds per game, and his 12 double-doubles are the most by a Hawkeye since the 2001-02 season.

Related: Hawkeyes don’t panic, fight back for ‘ugly’ victory

With those numbers, it makes sense why Garza is getting the praise he is — and it’s not just coming from Howard.

Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard compared Garza to a former Badgers great after Iowa beat the Badgers on Monday.

“His transcendence, growth, and development is very similar to what I watched with Frank Kaminsky,” Gard said. “Watching last year’s film, and then seeing him this year, he’s made a terrific jump.

“He’s done a terrific job with his body. He plays with a tremendous motor. That’s a credit to Luka; he’s obviously put a lot of time in. He must be a heck of a worker, because he’s taken a huge jump.”

Kaminsky started two games in his first two years with Wisconsin before becoming a consensus All-American and Wooden Award winner his senior year.

Garza has shown the same jump in his game from his sophomore to junior seasons. He’s increased his scoring by 10 points per game and is collecting six more rebounds each game this season compared to last year.

The comparison to Kaminsky is not only accurate, but flattering for Garza.

“When I was in high school, that was a guy I absolutely watched all the time, especially during his senior year,” Garza said. “ It felt like I could be that type of guy if I continued to work hard enough. His story of where he came from, from his freshman year to his senior year, being the player of the year. Hearing the comparison, it’s a big complement.”