Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports
This time last year it was all about Louisville Cardinals‘ point guard Peyton Siva. Is he even on the team anymore? Yes, I know he is, but why aren’t we talking about one of the best point guards in the nation for this year’s Final Four like we did last year?
First off, Russ Smith has emerged as one of the best scorers in college basketball. Smith definitely gets the most buzz from this team, which is well deserved.
Maybe it is the fact that Siva isn’t playing good basketball? That can’t be it because he is putting up nine points per game and five assists per game in the tourney, which are both close to his season averages.
The real reason why we have not heard about him really at all in the 2013 NCAA Tournament is because he is a great defensive player and a pass first shoot second type of point guard. Plus, we heard that same story last season.
Smith is putting up monster numbers for this team and he is the biggest reason why Louisville has made it this far if we had to point at one single individual. However, that does not mean that Siva has been playing bad. He is still one of the best point guards in the nation.
Siva did just put up 16 points against the No. 2 Duke Blue devils. If he wanted to score the ball more, he would. Siva just chooses to do the little things that make a huge difference, like play good defense and get his entire offense involved, but Peyton Siva is still Peyton Siva. Louisville just has a different story to tell this year.
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