CityLeagueHoops

While we were out in Vegas at Impact Basketball, we had the opportunity to see Louisville’s Peyton Siva prep for the NBA Draft. Fresh off of a national championship, he was the leader amongst the group and his positive mentality rubbed off on anyone around him. Throw in his 6‘1 measurement and improved shooting, and you see why he’s firmly supplanted himself in the second round.

Here’s the full interview we did with Peyton touching on what he will bring to an NBA team, his development as a point guard, and Kevin Ware.

CityLeagueHoops: What are you looking to improve on the most out here in Vegas at Impact?

Peyton Siva: My shooting. I just want to show people that I can shoot and I’ve been doing a good job out here of making shots.

CLH: You’re a guy who has been quite the worker throughout your career, yet there have still been a lot of questions with your jumpshot. What are some of the issues you have encountered with your shot?

PS: Last year, I was shooting it really good in the beginning of the year and then towards the Big East tournament, I wasn’t shooting it as well. You can’t really make any excuses for it, but it’s a lot easier here when you’re not pressing the entire game. You can get a lot more legs in your shot and that’s really helped me.

CLH: Over your career at Louisville, what area of your game do you think you made the biggest strides in?

PS: Just decision making. I transformed into more of a pure point guard. In high school, you are relied on to score a lot and at Louisville, I had to make the transition to a pure point guard. Running a team under Coach Pitino really helped me out a lot.

CLH: You were a bit of a trendsetter coming all the way from the Pacific Northwest to Louisville. What made you decide to come all the way across the country to play your college basketball?

PS: For one, Coach Pitino is a great, hall of fame coach. T-Will [Terrence Williams] also went there, and I grew up working out with him. Watching him play there made me really want to go there. The funny thing is that they weren’t really recruiting me and I had to say ‘Coach, I really like Louisville a lot’ to get them to come look at me. They watched me play, then offered me the next day.

CLH: A lot of people question your size and that’s one of those things that there’s simply nothing you can do about. How do you detract people from making a big deal about your height?

PS: For me, it’s never really been about size. I’ve played against big players my entire life. I wanted to go to the Big East because it was known as such a physical league. You’re playing against 7-footers and 6‘4 point guards. I like to think that I was pretty successful in the Big East. For anyone who questions height, I really don’t think it matters as long as you have heart and come to play. You saw the way Isaiah Thomas came out and proved everyone wrong this year. Chris Paul is not the tallest guy out there either, but he is a truly amazing point guard. I think that if you have game and go out there playing with heart, you’ll be fine.

CLH: Even before Kevin Ware’s injury, the team was playing with a comradery and bond unlike most college teams. What was the team’s mentality like going into the NCAA tourney?

PS: Well, it really started going into the Big East tournament. After we lost that 5 overtime game, we were really just trying to get everyone back on the same page. Once we got to the Big East tourney, we hit our stride. There were less practices, we were just going out there and playing…And you can forget the last game. Win or lose, you bounce back and play. At the end of the day, we were talented enough that any one of us could have a big night. We all played within ourselves, knew our roles, and wanted to prove everybody wrong.

CLH: As a guy who was known as a scorer earlier in your career, what was the adjustment like playing on such a loaded team?

PS: My first year it was tough because you’re used to looking to score naturally, but then you also have to look to pass and you always don’t make the right reads. This past year, a lot of people were like ‘you need to come out your senior year and score all these points.’ To be honest, that wasn’t for me. We had a bunch of guys and couldn’t be selfish or egotistical. I wanted to get everyone the ball and get wins because at the end of the day, that’s all that really matters. My job was easy.

CLH: What do you think you’re going to surprise teams with during the workout process?

PS: Just my leadership. I’ll bring the utmost competitiveness and like you said, height doesn’t mean anything. I’m going to go out there like it’s my last to show everyone that I can be that vocal leader. At the end of the day, it’s all about winning.

CLH: Everyone knows about the impact that Kevin Ware had on your guys as a team post-injury, but a lot of people don’t know how important he was to the team on the court. Talk a little about that.

PS: At that point in time, Kevin was playing his best basketball of the season. He had 11 or 12 points in the Oregon game, the and-1 against Duke, and made some other huge plays. He was arguably our best defender because he was so athletic, long, and lanky. He brought us that extra effort because he never got tired. When Kevin would come in, we’d take the lead a lot of the time. Not only did he bring that defensive factor, but as the year went on, he showed he could bring that offensive factor too.