He is keeping eligibility though.
https://hawkeyesports.com/news/2020/4/10/garza-test-nba-process.aspx
https://hawkeyesports.com/news/2020/4/10/garza-test-nba-process.aspx
Luka Garza Declares for Draft
- Thread starter jordkap
- Start date
He’s a big man who can shoot, run, and can rebound. He will have a spot in the NBA somewhere.
I rarely watch NBA basketball, but did you ever notice there are so many guys that you never heard of from college?
If you’re a Hawkeye fan, be rest assured he’ll be back wearing your uniform.
Quality college player. G league player at best. If he was longer, had crazy Ups or if the game valued the post play like the pre 2000s, I think he would make a NBA roster. The game has changed. I see most of his shots swatted at the next level.
GO RU
I thought the same thing until I watched him make shot after shot including 3 pointers. He’s got a shot to make it for sure in my opinion. Not super athletic like your typical NBA player today but better than guys I have seen last for years in the NBA.
He would have been a good NBA player 20 years ago. He can shoot 3s but so can centers on most other NBA teams; centers that are bigger, faster, and stronger than Garza. Centers that are also good passers and I don't think Garza passes at all.
What center can he post up on and score in the NBA? Not too many. Guys like Embiid would eat him for lunch.
On defense he would probably have the slowest lateral footspeed in the NBA. He also doesn't have the size or athleticism to cover NBA centers.
He might get drafted late second round but he certainly won't stick
What center can he post up on and score in the NBA? Not too many. Guys like Embiid would eat him for lunch.
On defense he would probably have the slowest lateral footspeed in the NBA. He also doesn't have the size or athleticism to cover NBA centers.
He might get drafted late second round but he certainly won't stick
If his outside shot continues to improve, he's an NBA player, no doubt. What he lacks in athleticism, he makes up for w/ intelligence on the court.
He'll go pro because he will not get any better if he stays. For better or worse, he is a finished product. Hard to say if he'll be a 4 or 5 - will depend on ability to defend and rebound. Could be a Jack Sikma type of player if he improves his mid-range and 3-point shots.
Reminds me of watching Big Country Reeves in the 90s. He came off a huge game against Kansas where he put up 30 and 20 leading OK St to a big win. Dick Vitale said "what a great game, he'll make a fine backup center in the pro's". I thought it was a doochy comment at the time, but he ended up being right.
Reminds me of watching Big Country Reeves in the 90s. He came off a huge game against Kansas where he put up 30 and 20 leading OK St to a big win. Dick Vitale said "what a great game, he'll make a fine backup center in the pro's". I thought it was a doochy comment at the time, but he ended up being right.
He can shoot, he can rebound, he's smart. He has a shot. Can be a quality backup and make a ton of money.
Could Covid flare up next year? Injury?
If NBA says yes, he should run.
Not many NBA players can guard Embiid.
Could Covid flare up next year? Injury?
If NBA says yes, he should run.
Not many NBA players can guard Embiid.
I think he’s fearless and tough as hell but lacks length and jumping ability to compete with centers in the League.
He can shoot from the outside but a big with no handle can’t just stand around on the arc waiting for the ball to shoot. He’s going to have to be comfortable enough to dribble the ball between the different levels of the floor while being guarded outside the paint. I just don’t see it.
Anyways, I see him back at Iowa trying to lead them to a BIG and NCAA titles which are great goals to pursue if he foregoes being picked late in the second round or being signed as a free agent [which most likely means G League allocation]. Heck you can be picked late in the 1st round and never make it out of the G League.
GO RU
He can shoot from the outside but a big with no handle can’t just stand around on the arc waiting for the ball to shoot. He’s going to have to be comfortable enough to dribble the ball between the different levels of the floor while being guarded outside the paint. I just don’t see it.
Anyways, I see him back at Iowa trying to lead them to a BIG and NCAA titles which are great goals to pursue if he foregoes being picked late in the second round or being signed as a free agent [which most likely means G League allocation]. Heck you can be picked late in the 1st round and never make it out of the G League.
GO RU
Run? We watching the same Luka Garza? He's slooooowwww. He's a bad defender in college, he'd get absolutely torched in the league.
Generally, elite NBA players leave college before becoming household college basketball names.
Look at the list of BIG Ten POY.
Since 1984 only 4 BIG POY have made an NBA All-Star game:
1989 Glen Rice (3x)
1994 Glen Robinson (2x)
2004 Devin Harris (1x)
2012 Draymond Green (3x)
Only 2 have made an All-NBA team (Rice and Green).
Same for National Player of the Year.
Since 2000, only a handful have been actual NBA stars (Anthony Davis, Blake Griffin, Kevin Durant)
This is one of the reasons that NBA draft projections from "I hate the NBA - it's so boring" college basketball fans are generally useless.
They usually vastly overrate "elite" college players.
Is there someplace projecting him higher than a 2nd round pick?
He did up his 3pt% this year so that helps.
But he would be a huge target on defense - getting pulled out into space.
You must not watch the NBA. He was just a NPOY finalist and isn't even on draft boards. He will have a good career in Europe
And people wonder why the NBA blows. We have fans seriously talking about Cliff as a one and done or two year player when Garza is destined for Europe? He will make the NBA.
Undergraduates have to declare for the NBA Draft in order to contact the NBA Undergraduate Advisory Committee to get feedback from the NBA on their draft status and on what they need to improve on in order to improve their draft status.
Cliff and Garza are nearly opposites. Cliff was made for the NBA. He's an elite athlete and shot blocker. Garza struggles to be an adequate defender in college. He would be a turnstile in the NBA. Literally the slowest player in the league
And this is why the NBA is garbage. Somehow one of the best players in college basketball is referenced as having no place whatsoever in the NBA. There are plenty of garbage teams in the NBA (more than half of them). IDK..maybe a big who can nail tough 3s might help them in some way, but what do I know. What they are doing to stay bottom dwelling teams obviously seems to be working.
It's not an NBA thing, it's a college to pros thing.
Jason White and Eric Crouch won the Heisman and didn't play a down in the NFL. Some guys can excel in one environment while not being a good fit in another.
And it's not like they were busts like Matt Leinart. Everyone knew Crouch and White, despite being dominant in college, were not future NFL quarterbacks.
Same thing happens in college baseball. Guys put up monster stats but every scout can see they don't have the tools to make it to the majors.
Most NBA teams already have centers who can hit 3s and those guys are all bigger faster and more athletic than Garza.
Why does the NBA blow? You’re mad because there are more skilled & athletic players?
Cliff scored 3 points in the Union County Final------6 points against Manasquan with their Big Kid out for the game.
Yet you want to compare him to a guy who was 2nd in the Wooden Award ?
Hey I hope he's a helluva player here but if you've ever seen him play he's all about potential.
Not even near ready offensively
Where did I say anything about Cliff's offense? If he didn't need to develop on offense he would be a one and done. His defense is already elite. The sky is the limit for Cliff, he oozes NBA potential.
OTOH, Garza isn't near ready defensively and never will be. What happens when Embiid posts up on him? Can he run out to stop a 3? Will he ever win a jump ball when he can't jump? Garza is very physically limited in what he can do.