Louisville Point Guard Peyton Siva has been selected as one of 10 finalists for the 2012-13 Men’s Basketball Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.
-Classroom
Siva received the 2011-12 BIG EAST Conference Scholar-Athlete Sports Excellence Award for men’s basketball, an honor presented to an individual in each of the league’s 24 sports which recognizes academic and athletic achievement as well as community service. Siva, who has a 3.41 cumulative grade point average in sociology, was named to the 2011-12 Capital One Academic All-District 2 men’s basketball first team. He has been named to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll (3.0 or better GPA) in each of his six semesters at UofL.
-Character
As a senior, Siva will serve as the Cardinals’ co-captain for the second straight year. He has been called by Louisville Coach Rick Pitino as “one of my top five of all-time as a person.” He wears No. 3 because of his Christian faith for the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) and has been involved in Bible study since his high school days. The story of him as a 13-year-old locating and convincing his father on the verge of suicide not to end his life became a national story.
-Community
Siva has made several visits to Kosair Children’s Hospital to help brighten the lives of many youth. He has spoken to children at Louisville area elementary schools about the importance of doing well in school and has shared his Christian faith at local school FCA meetings. After completing an internship with the Boys and Girls Club in Louisville, he continued to help out at the facility when possible.
-Competition
Siva was a preseason first-team All-America selection by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook. He was named to the West Region All-Tournament team while leading Louisville to the 2012 NCAA Final Four. Siva earned Most Outstanding Player honors at the 2012 BIG EAST Championship, leading Louisville to the title. Siva is second in the Big East in assist and 20th in the nation averaging 6.1 a game. He is currently #56 All-Time Scoring with 1060 points, and 2nd All-Time in Assists with 594. Needs 119 to tie LaBradford Smith.
The finalists were chosen by a media committee from the list of 30 candidates announced in October. Nationwide fan voting begins immediately to help select the winner. Fans are encouraged to vote on the Senior CLASS Award website or on the Senior CLASS Award Facebook fan page through March 25. Fan votes will be combined with media and Division I head coaches’ votes to determine the winner.
The men’s Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2013 NCAA Final Four in Atlanta, Ga., April 6 and 8.
2012-13 Senior CLASS Award Finalists
Matthew Dellavedova, Saint Mary’s
Mike Groselle, The Citadel
Jordan Hulls, Indiana
Jonathan Lee, Northeastern
C. J. McCollum, Lehigh
Mike Muscala, Bucknell
Mason Plumlee, Duke
Peyton Siva, Louisville
Andrew Smith, Butler
Marc Trasolini, Santa Clara