By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – If you were tasked with picking the top five players at Iowa under both Fran McCaffery and Lisa Bluder, who would they be?

I took on that task and quickly realized that it was no easy assignment.

McCaffery is in his 10^th season as the Iowa men’s basketball coach, while Bluder is in her 20^th season coaching the Iowa women.

That’s three decades combined between the two of them and hundreds of different players who have made significant contributions to both teams along the way.

It was more difficult trimming Bluder’s list to five because she has coached at Iowa for twice as long as McCaffery has and that obviously makes a huge difference.

Imagine trying to pick five on the men’s side if you went back 20 seasons because it’s hard enough picking five over 10 seasons.

I thought about picking just by position, but ultimately chose to pick who I feel are the best players overall with only a slight emphasis on position.

The beauty in doing this type of project is that there are no right or wrong answers. It's just my opinion.

Fran McCaffery’s top five

Aaron White, 6-9, forward, 2011-2015, Strongsville, Ohio – He finished his Iowa career ranked first in Iowa games played (140), and free throw makes (618) and attempts (800), second in scoring (1,859), third in rebounding (901), and 14th in double-doubles (16).

He made more free throws (618) than any Big Ten player the last 50 years and ranks third all-time in conference history, and was the first Hawkeye to lead the team in rebounding four consecutive seasons.

He is also the only Hawkeye to compile at least 1,800 points, 900 rebounds, 175 assists, and 125 steals, and he scored in double figures 95 career times, posted 16 career double-doubles, pulled down double-digit rebounds 17 career times, scored 20-points-or-more 20 times in his career, and is the first Hawkeye ever to register at least 1,300 points, 650 rebounds, 100 steals and 100 assists by his junior season.

White is one of four Iowa players to be named first-team All-Big Ten under Fran McCaffery, earning that distinction as a senior in 2015.

Luka Garza, 6-11 center, 2017-present, Washington D.C. – He is the only active player to make the list and is considered one of the top contenders for National Player of the Year as a junior.

In addition to leading the Big Ten in scoring throughout the season, Garza also scored at least 20 points in 13 consecutive games, which is the longest streak for a Hawkeye since Fred Brown also had a streak of 13 consecutive games with at least 20 points in 1971.

Garza scored a career-high 44 points against Michigan and he had 38 points against Indiana. His 44-point performance is the third highest point total in program history.

Garza has done more than just score a bunch points. He is also averaging nearly 10 rebounds per game for a depleted squad that has exceeded expectations.

Jarrod Uthoff, 6-9, forward, 2013-16, Cedar Rapids – He finished his collegiate career ranked 19th all-time in Hawkeyes scoring (1,298 points), fourth in blocked shots (177) and 10th in three-pointers made (137), and did all that in just three seasons after transferring from Wisconsin.

He was also a consensus second-team All-America pick as a senior in 2016 and made first-team all-Big Ten that same season, while also making the Big Ten All-Defensive team.

He was a third-team all-conference pick as a junior in 2015.

He also recently signed a 10-day contract out of the G League with the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies.

Roy Devyn Marble, 6-6 guard, 2010-14, Southfield, Mich. – The son of the late Roy Marble ranks sixth in program history with 1,694 points.

Devyn was a key piece to Fran McCaffery’s rebuilding project at Iowa, making first-team All-Big Ten as a senior in 2014. He was the first Hawkeye to make first-team all-conference under McCaffery.

Devyn also led Iowa in scoring as a junior and senior, and in steals as a sophomore and senior.

Peter Jok, 6-6, guard, 2013-17, Des Moines – He became the fifth Hawkeye to lead the Big Ten in scoring, averaging 19.9 points per game as a senior.

He also ranked first in the Big Ten in free throw accuracy (.911) as a senior and third in 3-pointers made per game (2.6). His 636 points as a senior rank eighth best in a single-season at Iowa, while his 84 3-pointers as a senior rank seventh best in a single season at Iowa.

He also scored 30 points or more five times, a total that tied for first among Power 5 conferences and third best in a single season at Iowa since 1970

Also considered: Matt Gatens, Jordan Bohannon, Tyler Cook, Adam Woodbury

Lisa Bluder’s top five

Megan Gustafson, 6-3, center, 2015-19, Port Wing, Wis. – If ever there was a no-brainer pick, this is it.

She not only makes Bluder’s top five, but is arguably the greatest player in program history.

Gustafson capped her illustrious career with a record-breaking senior season in which she was named the 2018-19 consensus National Player of the Year while also leading Iowa to the Elite Eight.

She is Iowa’s all-time leading scorer with 2,804 points, all-time leading rebounder with 1,450 rebounds and fourth in blocks with 232.

Sam Logic, 5-9, guard, 2011-15, Racine, Wis. – She ended her Hawkeye career as the only player in NCAA history to accumulate at least 1,500 career points, 800 rebounds, 800 assists, and 200 steals.

She also became the fourth consensus All-American in program history and was named to the 10-member 2015 WBCA Division I Coaches All-America Team, as well as a third-team Associated Press All-American as a senior in 2015.

She was one of 10 players nationally to earn USBWA All-American recognition, and was selected as the 2014-15 Senior CLASS Award winner for NCAA Division I women's basketball.

Ally Disterhoft, 6-0 guard, 2013-17, Iowa City – The West High graduate ended her career as Iowa’s all-time leading scorer with 2,102 points, and now ranks second on the list behind Gustafson.

Disterhoft also ended her career tied for seventh all-time in program history in 3-point field goals made (162), 11th in blocks (78) and rebounds (788), and 14th in assists (313). She appeared in all 137 games of her Hawkeye career with 118 consecutive starts, and scored in double figures in 109 of her 118 career starts.

She set a program record for free throws made (522) and free throws attempted (709) in her career… became the second player in program history to surpass the 2,000 point mark… became the program's highest scoring junior, netting 565 points to breaks Michelle Edwards' record of 564 points in 1986-87.

Kathleen Doyle, 5-9 guard, 2016-present, LaGrange Park, Ill. – She is the only active player to make this list and is poised to make first-team All-Big Ten for the second consecutive season.

She currently leads Iowa in scoring with an 18.4 per-game average, and also leads the team with 170 assists and 45 steals.

Kachine Alexander, 5-9, forward, 2008-11, Minneapolis – She became the first Big Ten women’s basketball player to record two triple-doubles in the same season when she accomplished the feat as a sophomore in 2008-09. She also became first Iowa player, and just the fifth in Big Ten history, to record 1,000 career points, 800 career rebounds and 300 career assists, and she finished career ranked second in school history in double-doubles (34), second in rebounding (910), eighth in assists (339) and 16th in scoring (1,239).

Also considered: Cara Consuegra, Jennie Lillis, Jaime Printy, Crystal Smith, Lindsey Meder, Kamille Wahlin, Kristy Smity