Luka Garza had a chance to play every home game at Indiana.
Then IU head coach Tom Crean offered him a scholarship in 2016.
Instead the Washington D.C. area product chose to play for Iowa, and he put together a masterful college career with the Hawkeyes, earning the Big Ten’s Player of the Year award back-to-back in 2020 and 2021.
Still, Garza took note every time he came to Bloomington.
The Iowa big man played at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall four times over his career with the Hawkeyes, and each time he walked away from those games impressed.
Asked on the Bucket List Sports podcast about the biggest atmospheres he has played in, college or pro, the Minnesota Timberwolves forward only mentioned one college location.
“My favorite place to play in college was at IU,” Garza said. “I just loved it.”
Assembly Hall didn’t always love him back, as Iowa went just 1-3 in games Garza played in Bloomington over his four seasons. But he did have a massive 38-point outburst there in 2020 — the kind of game that became almost routine as he terrorized the Big Ten for two seasons.
Garza comes from a long line of family members who played the game, so his appreciation for the venue comes from a place of reverence familiar to hoops junkies from Indiana.
For basketball people like Garza, it’s a memorable experience to play the game at a place where history has been made.
“Assembly Hall feels like you’re playing in a museum of basketball,” Garza said. “It just felt like an honor to walk out there and hoop.”
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
- Find us on Facebook: thedailyhoosier
- You can follow us on Twitter: @daily_hoosier
- Seven ways to support completely free IU coverage at no cost to you.
