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29 L uka Garza, the 2020 National College Basketball Player of the Year by six major news outlets and Big Ten Player of the Year, is returning to the University of Iowa for his senior season. "My heart is in Iowa City," Garza said. "I love this place too much to leave it. I love my teammates, coaches, community, fans and the university. It would have been too hard to close the book without the last chapter." Garza is one of five players since 1975 — and first since 2008 — to return to school aer being recognized as the Sporting News National Player of the Year. e other four players are Tyler Hansbrough (2008), Dee Brown (2005), Michael Jordan (1983) and Ralph Sampson (1982). e Washington, D.C., native had a historic season in 2019-20, leading the nationally ranked Iowa men's basketball team to 20 victories and a likely NCAA Tournament berth if not for the COVID-19 pandemic. Garza said that not having an opportunity to achieve two goals last March — winning the conference tournament and making an NCAA Tournament run — was difficult. "With the depth, length and experience we have returning, I believe we have a group determined to make the most of this season," Garza said. "ere will be preseason hype, but that doesn't mean anything; at the end of the day, it's what we do when the ball is tipped. We have goals of where we want to be, but right now it's not about winning championships, it's about taking it one day at a time so we can be the best team possible." A unanimous consensus first-team All-America selection, Garza became the first Iowa men's basketball student-athlete to earn National Player of the Year distinction. e center was also named the Pete Newell Big Man of the Year, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year, USBWA District VI Player of the Year and Big Ten Men's Basketball Player of the Year. University of Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery called Garza's decision unselfish and heart- warming. "Luka has an opportunity to advance himself professionally, but instead, he is thinking more about the program and his teammates," McCaffery said. "His goals are team-oriented. He has an incredible bond with his brothers in the locker room and believes in this group." Garza finished the 20-game conference schedule averaging a staggering 26.2 points per game last season, becoming the first player to average at least 26 points in Big Ten play since Purdue's Glenn Robinson in 1994. Garza scored a school-record 740 points in 2019-20, breaking the program's 50-year old record set by John Johnson in 1970. Garza became one of three Big Ten players to ever to total 740 points and 300 rebounds in a season. He scored 20 or more points a school-record 16 straight Big Ten games, the longest streak by any player in the Big Ten since Ohio State's Dennis Hopson in 1987. Garza enters his senior season with 1,559 points, 660 rebounds, 104 blocked shots, 99, assists, 47 steals and 20 double-doubles. He ranks 10th at Iowa in career blocked shots and double-doubles, and 12th in scoring. He is 558 points from surpassing Roy Marble as the school's all-time leading scorer. Achieving on-court success with his teammates is not the only goal Garza has in mind. "Earning a college degree is something that is not only important to me, but very important to my mother," said Garza. "My entire family guided me in the right direction and that is why I feel confident and excited about my decision."