Peyton Siva Intense On Defense

Peyton Siva, the University of Louisville recruit Rick Pitino has described as the “most college-ready player” in next year’s recruiting class, has been selected as Player of the Year in Washington State by the Seattle Times.

The really great news for U of L fans who recognize the value of defensive intensity is that Peyton loves playing defense as much, if not more, than offense, if that’s possible:

Siva became a resilient defender. And he became so unselfish that there were times Franklin could not get him to shoot enough. His lasting memories of Franklin’s last two losses — to Federal Way in last year’s tournament opener, and to Bainbridge this season — were games he did not take over.

But there were plenty of games that he did take over. He led the Metro League in assists, averaged 18.1 points and scored 30 or more four times, including a season-high 35 points in the Sea-King District championship against No. 2 Bellevue.

“He lit us up in a hurry,” Bellevue coach Chris O’Connor said. “I remember my assistant saying, ‘What do we do?’ and I said, ‘I don’t think there’s anything we can do.’ “

Siva’s team won the Metro League and the Washington State championship and he was also selected as a McDonald’s All-American and Washington’s Mr. Basketball by the coaches.