Iowa Basketball: Hawkeyes fill up scholarships with two quality recruits
Iowa basketball secured the commitments of two key front court players this weekend.
Even with a very full roster, Iowa continues to push for the best available talent to fill the remaining gaps in their scholarship chart. They received two big boosts this weekend from 2017 Washington D.C. product Luke Garza and 2017 Indiana native Jack Nunge.
Iowa has been very focused on big men with no open scholarships in 2017. Both Garza and Nunge have good potential for future years. One or both could redshirt as the team has five to six guys slotted in the 2017 front court. There is also a strong possibility that someone transfers with the possible positional log jam.
Of the two, Garza is more likely to play early on with his 6’11”, 240 pound frame. He is currently listed as the 2nd best center in D.C. and 17th best center overall.
Garza committed to Iowa over multiple programs like Georgetown, Indiana, and Louisville. He might have some pop from the outside, but he’ll likely make his living posting guys up and trying to outmaneuver them down low.
He is the likely heir to former Hawkeye center Adam Woodbury. Woodbury was never one to dominate opponents, but he did lots of little things right and never hurt the team with his decision making. Garza could be that same sort of player.
Nunge has a bit more athleticism at his listed size of 6’9″, 185 pounds. The 7th best power forward in Indiana, Nunge committed to Iowa over other programs, including Nebraska and Vanderbilt.
There are some questions as to where he will ultimately play with so many other bodies at his potential position, but he has a versatile game that could see him move around the court depending on the rotation.
Some project him as a Jarrod Uthoff-type player, who can do a bit of everything. If true, that would be huge as Uthoff is one of the better Hawkeyes in recent history, even if he faded in games towards the season’s end.
Getting Garza and Nunge together should cause major excitement for the future in Iowa City.
Right now, it is far too early to project where these two will fit in. Seven guys standing 6’7″ or taller are already in place.
Adding both Garza and Nunge would push that number higher, yet some of them are certainly capable of sliding out to the small forward spot. I can’t imagine head coach Fran McCaffery wanting to rotate nine guys between three positions while also needing to balance the back court.
Someone will likely redshirt at some point and wait for an opening in their development cycle beyond 2017. A player or two could transfer or elect to walk-on in order to even out the rotation.
There are still questions for the 2017-18 season, but Iowa continues to position itself to compete in the rugged Big Ten.
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