Iowa Hawkeyes finally have NBA presence again

This is the first time since 2002 in which at least three former Iowa Hawkeyes were on NBA rosters at the same time.

Luka Garza has a standard NBA contract with the Detroit Pistons, while Tyler Cook and Joe Wieskamp are on two-way deals with the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs, respectively.

Garza scored his first NBA points Saturday night in the Pistons’ loss at Chicago. Cook is presently with the Windy City Bulls and Wieskamp is on the Austin Spurs in the NBA G League, where they’ll spend most of the season. Both can be called back up to their NBA teams on a moment’s notice.

In 2002, Matt Bullard was near the end of his 11-year NBA career, Reggie Evans was at the beginning of his 13 seasons in the league, and Ricky Davis and Ryan Bowen were also in the NBA.

Davis was in the league from 1998 to 2010, Bowen from 1999 to 2010. Bowen is an assistant coach with the Denver Nuggets, and has been an assistant in the NBA since 2011.

It’s been a dry spell for Hawkeyes in the NBA. Devyn Marble had a 44-game career there. Jarrod Uthoff played nine games in The League. Marble played in Israel last season. Uthoff is playing for SeaHorses Mikawa in Japan.

The most former Hawkeyes to be in the NBA simultaneously? Eight of them played in the NBA in the 1989-90 season. They were Bob Hansen, Greg Stokes, B.J. Armstrong, Kevin Gamble, Brad Lohaus, Roy Marble, Ed Horton and Bill Jones.

Hansen, Gamble, Armstrong and Lohaus all played in the league for at least nine seasons. Horton, Jones and Roy Marble all played in fewer than 50 NBA games.

Last week, the NBA named its 75 greatest players over its 75-year history. None were former Hawkeyes. None were former Iowa State Cyclones. None were born in Iowa.

Centenary has a player on the list. So does Southeast Oklahoma State. And Holy Cross, Winston-Salem State, Central Arkansas, NYU. No Hawkeyes or Cyclones.

No Illini or Badgers or Boilermakers or Cornhuskers or Wolverines, either.

Just five of the 75 came from Big Ten teams. They were John Havlicek and Jerry Lucas (Ohio State), Magic Johnson (Michigan State), Kevin McHale (Minnesota) and Isaih Thomas (Indiana).

Who among current NBA players from the Big Ten could one day be considered among the league’s 75 best players in history? Draymond Green of Michigan State would earn consideration, I would think. But if Chris Webber and Glenn Robinson couldn’t make it, Green wouldn’t, either.

The 15 players on last year’s NBA All-Pro teams included no one from a Big Ten school, but did have players from Weber State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Davidson. Four were from Europe. One (LeBron James) skipped college and went to the NBA out of high school. It has worked out for him.