Kriener, Garza named co-winners of Chris Street Award

The award is presented annually to a Hawkeye player, or players, who best exemplify the spirit, enthusiasm, and intensity of Chris Street.

Nichole Harris

Iowa forward Ryan Kriener and Iowa guard Luka Garza fight for the rebound during a men’s basketball game between Iowa and Penn State on Saturday, Feb. 29 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes defeated the Nittany Lions 77-68.

Robert Read, Pregame Editor


Luka Garza and Ryan Kriener are the co-winners of the Chris Street Award for the 2019-20 Iowa men’s basketball season, the team announced Tuesday. The duo are two of eight players who earned team recognition.

The Chris Street Award is presented annually to a Hawkeye player, or players, who best exemplify the spirit, enthusiasm, and intensity of Chris Street. Street was a member of the Iowa men’s basketball team who died in an auto accident in 1993, midway through his junior year as a Hawkeye.

Garza was the Big Ten Player of the Year as a junior last season. The Washington, D.C., native averaged 23.9 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game on his way to becoming a consensus All-American and the first player in program history to earn the distinction of National Player of the Year.

Kriener, a senior co-captain a season ago, was Iowa’s leading scorer off the bench, averaging 7.7 points per game. The Spirit Lake, Iowa, native was also named the team’s co-winner of the Most Improved Player Award along with Joe Wieskamp.

Wieskamp was a third-team All-Big Ten selection as a sophomore in 2019-20. He ranked second on the team in points (14) and rebounds (6.1) per game.

Iowa finished the 2019-20 season with a 20-11 overall record, including an 11-9 mark in the Big Ten.

The full list of the Iowa men’s basketball team’s award winners:

CHRIS STREET AWARD: Luka Garza, Ryan Kriener

TOP PLAYMAKER: Connor McCaffery

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: CJ Fredrick

MOST IMPROVED: Ryan Kriener, Joe Wieskamp

BEST REBOUNDER: Luka Garza

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AWARD: Michael Baer, Connor McCaffery

KENNY ARNOLD HAWKEYE SPIRIT AWARD: Bakari Evelyn, Joe Toussaint

BIG TEN, NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Luka Garza

BIG TEN FREE THROW PERCENTAGE LEADER: Joe Wieskamp

BIG TEN 3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE LEADER: CJ Fredrick

BIG TEN, NATIONAL ASSIST-TO-TURNOVER RATIO LEADER: Connor McCaffery