Garza named to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award Watch List
After winning the award in 2020, Garza will have the opportunity to repeat in 2021.
Iowa center Luka Garza attempt to push past Illinois forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili during a men’s basketball game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Illinois Fighting Illini on Sunday, February 2, 2020. The Hawkeyes defeated the Fighting Illini 72-65.
November 6, 2020
Iowa basketball’s Luka Garza was named to the 2021 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award Watch List Friday afternoon. Garza is one of just 20 names to appear on the list.
Named after three-time NCAA Champion, three-time NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player, and three-time National Player of the Year, the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award has honored the best center in Division I men’s basketball since the award’s inception six years ago.
Garza won the 2020 iteration of the award following a campaign that saw him average 23.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. Now, Garza will have the opportunity to repeat. The preseason list of 20 names will be narrowed to ten in February. Five finalists will then be selected and presented to Abdul-Jabbar and his selection committee in March. The award will be officially presented on April 9.
Including Garza, three Big Ten players have won the award in its six-year history. Wisconsin Badger centers Frank Kaminsky (2016) and Ethan Happ (2019) are the other Big Ten players to win the award.
Garza is no stranger to success, accolades, and awards. In 2020 alone, Garza was named National Player of the Year by six media outlets. Garza was bested by Dayton’s Obi Toppin in the race for both the John R. Wooden and AP National Player of the Year awards.
However, Garza was the unquestioned Big Ten Player of the Year in 2020. He was also a consensus first-team All-American.
Both Iowa and the Big Ten Conference have yet to formally announce their men’s college basketball schedules. As currently structured, the Hawkeyes will face the North Carolina Tar Heels at Carver-Hawkeye Arena for the Big Ten-ACC Challenge Dec. 8. Iowa is also slated to play the Gonzaga Bulldogs in a neutral-site game at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Dec. 19.
The NCAA announced Sept. 16 that the men’s college basketball season will begin Nov. 25.
On Friday morning, CBS Sports’ college basketball insider John Rothstein reported the Big Ten’s schedule may be released early next week.
Reports from Rothstein, Stadium’s Jeff Goodman, and others indicate that Iowa will open its season with matchups against North Carolina Central and Northern Illinois, starting Nov. 25.