INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Luka Garza knew what everyone expected before returning for a final run as Iowa’s unquestioned star.
Pressure? Garza felt it, all right, enough to know his mental health required the same attention as his game.
“I needed meditation to lean on, to be able to mainly just go out there and be myself and not worry about anything else," Garza said.
That best explains why the 6-foot-11, 265-pound senior is The Associated Press men’s college basketball national player of the year after finishing second last season. He was the runaway choice for the award announced Thursday, receiving 50 of 63 votes from AP Top 25 voters.