HAWK TALK

February 2021

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33 e triple threat attack of Luka Garza, Jordan Bohannon and Joe Wieskamp has led the University of Iowa men's basketball team to a Top 10 ranking the first 11 weeks of the season, something that has not been accomplished since the 1986-87 season. Each player has scored more than 1,000 points, becoming the fih Hawkeye trio on the same team to accomplish the feat. e other four times were in 1987-88 (Roy Marble, B.J. Armstrong, Jeff Moe); 1988- 89 (Roy Marble, B.J. Armstrong, Ed Horton); 1995-96 (Jess Settles, Kenyon Murray, Chris Kingsbury) and 2004-05 (Jeff Horner, Greg Brunner, Pierre Pierce). Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery is not surprised that each of them reached the offensive milestone. "I would have expected them all to be 1,000-point scorers and I think they would have expected it," McCaffery said. "It has been fun watching those guys produce the way they have. I'm proud of them." As of Feb. 6, the trio of Garza, Bohannon, and Wieskamp have amassed 4,597 points, which is the second-highest trio in school history behind the 1988-89 trio of Marble, Armstrong and Horton (5,193 points). Redshirt junior Connor McCaffery has played with all three prior to becoming a Hawkeye, beginning on the AAU circuit and summer camps. It has been the years of chemistry that has been established that has helped each player excel at their cra. "e chemistry we have developed is good," said Connor McCaffery. "We have good offensive stuff that we can go to each other with. Each of them brings different skillsets and it makes it hard to guard." Leading the trio is Garza, who surpassed the 2,000-point plateau in Iowa's win over Michigan State on Feb. 2. Garza leads the country in scoring and player efficiency, but at the end of the day, the All-American center is more concerned about team success. "It means the world to me to have teammates by my side scoring at the level they do," Garza said. "I'm lucky to have the teammates that I do and to share the floor with so any talented players. "To lead the country in scoring would be a special accomplishment, but that is not my focus each and every game. I want to do whatever I can to help the team win." Murray Weir is the only Hawkeye in program history to lead the nation in scoring, when he averaged 21 points per game 73 years ago. Fran McCaffery is appreciative of what Garza has meant to this team and the program. "Luka has been a great leader," said Fran McCaffery. "He's a phenomenal teammate, one of the most consistent players I have ever been associated with. I felt that Luka would be a star in this league from the minute he got here." Garza, who is inching closer to becoming Iowa's all-time leading scorer, is the only player in Big Ten men's basketball history with more than 2,000 points, 800 rebounds, 125 blocked shots and 100 3-pointers. FEBRUARY SCHEDULE Feb. 13 at Michigan State Feb. 18 at Wisconsin Feb. 21 Penn State Feb. 28 at Ohio State

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