Spring is behind us and yet a flower has just bloomed. At the center of all the questions since the end of the NCAA season, Luka Garza worried about his ability to transit to the NBA rackets, much harder than a shock between two high school students who are still wondering about their post-baccalaureate training. Finally, the recent news about him is for the best of all senses. We debrief.
Inside 2m11 with the look of actor X, Luke Garza spent four years in the Iowa State laboratory perfecting his modern post 5 game. A nice stability for the high school student to develop out of sight, before making the leap to adults. And yet, the enunciation of his blaze during the Draft was far from assured, he who was selected only in fifty-second position by the Pistons. A slightly mushy fellow, already 22 brooms old and endowed with the lateral speed of Gérard Depardieu who is hooked by Ismaila Sarr, the athletic deficit clearly scared NBA franchises. He might turn at 24 points and 9 rebounds on average in his senior year, drink in the head of the opposing pivot at the post-game snack, Luka Garza saw the end of « NBA ready » come back in every debate that mentioned it. But today, after a valiantly contested Summer League in the Detroit jersey, the rookie has just landed a two-year contract and erased his late selection, deep in our memories. By releasing averages of 15 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1 against 52% shooting including 40% from parking, the Bosnian-born Amerloque succeeded in his summer league, also convincing Troy Weaver to lock his case in Michigan. Funny, putting so many questions above whoever was voted the best NCAA player last year. Absurdity, anachronism or inconsistency, it may be that Luka Garza ultimately answers the call of the rackets of the Great League.
The Detroit Pistons are signing rookie center Luka Garza to a new two-year contract, his agents Mike Kneisley and Odell Witherspoon told @TheAthletic @Stadium. Garza, the No. 52 pick, has his two-way converted to a full NBA deal.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 24, 2021
Son two-way behind him, the financial details of the new contract won by Mister Garza are still unknown. One thing is certain, he is not the first prospect to defeat the predictions in this way, confirming so early that he deserves his place in an NBA roster. We naturally think of a guy like Nikola Jokic, selected in 41st position of the 2014 Draft, or even Isaiah Thomas, easy in high school but for whom the physical dimension posed a problem at the higher stage. This is all the difficulty of analysis for scouts, to know if a player who is successful in a league physically more light, can reproduce his moves in the strongest. This tendency is generally confirmed in the first weeks and Luka Garza was no exception to the rule. The mass of Iowa made a strong impression in the Summer League and will have to repeat their achievements in training, ahead of block Isaiah Stewart. One of the reasons for his good adaptation – proportionately, the season not yet having started – would be a flexitarian diet, that is to say, he limited his meat consumption without eliminating it. Initially around 120 kilos, Luka Garza now points to 111 plaques, a well-being entrusted to Detroit Free Press last August.
“I feel more comfortable moving. It’s not just about the weight, it’s also all the work I’ve done on my lateral movements and my speed. I am not a reference in this field, but I am progressing at my own pace. “- Luka Garza
Hype, the key word that flies over Luka Garza’s situation. For the record, Dwane Casey also confided to the microphones of Detroit Free Press that Luka Garza had something special. He has « kicked the buttocks of guys on the offensive rebound or in transition ”, enough to put in confidence the Pistons Nation as for the potential of their new mechanic.
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