NCAA Basketball: 10 best players from state of Washington of last decade

2. Peyton Siva – Louisville

After starring at the high school level, Siva was considered by many a top 30 prospect in the class of 2009. This 6’0 point guard left the Pacific Northwest, heading to Louisville to play under Rick Pitino. Siva spent all four of his collegiate seasons suiting up for the Cardinals, ending his career by cutting down the nets at the end of the 2013 NCAA Tournament.

Siva played the backup point guard role as a freshman before becoming the full-time starter for the next three seasons. Across those years, he averaged just around 10 points and 5 assists per game in each of those starting seasons. He had a breakout 29-point performance as a sophomore and put up impressive steals numbers throughout his later years. He helped lead Louisville to the Final Four during his junior year, but they wouldn’t stop there, as the Cardinals won the national championship during his senior season. Siva won his last 16 collegiate games, with 18 points in the title game win over Michigan.

It doesn’t matter to Siva’s legacy that Louisville’s national title was vacated. He won Big East Tournament MVP for both his junior and senior seasons and was named All-Big East for his senior season. Siva wasn’t the biggest star, but he was a vital part of those last two postseason runs. He was among the national leaders in steals and assists as a senior and played his role phenomenally well. Siva was a very late draft pick in 2013, but has spent much of the last nine years playing professionally overseas.