My goodness - Peyton Siva...

[IthacaMatt]

I agree. I am not feeling it either. He is the reason I don't think Louisville will win the Big East regular season. Now a tournament, that is something different.

Their defense is what does it for them. Their offense has really struggled the past few years.

 

[SoBeCuse]

As an SU fan, I hope Siva is Louisville's best player this year. Because that means that the rest of their team is garbage. Maybe that is a bit harsh, but Siva is terribly inconsistent and he has a tendancy to be out of control. I do not see him as the best player on their team and nowhere near the best player in the league. I agree with others that put Dieng, Behanan and even Blackshear in front of Siva. They have a talented team, but trusting Siva to run the show opens them up to some bad losses.

I can think of a recently departed SU PG who fit that mold also. Do I think he will win POY? Probably not. Is he good? Absolutely.

 

[orangefog]

I can think of a recently departed SU PG who fit that mold also. Do I think he will win POY? Probably not. Is he good? Absolutely.

I was thinking about that as I typed that. It is not entirely impossible for him to change and become a better leader and point guard, but it would be unusual.

 

[PeteCalvin]

If they wanted to kiss Louisville's ass, then at least pick Behanan. He carried that team through the early and mid parts of the season last year.

 

[realorange]

Siva was playing under control during the last part of the year. Pitino may have finally convinced him that he can be a better player playing within himself.

Besides folks, would you want to argue with Siva's father about him being anything but the best?

 

[Senore2006]

Siva played on a bum ankle all season last year. He actually had a completely miserable season until he healed up. His sophomore year he led the BE in steals, in what was arguably - except for last March - his best year. Truth is, even Louisville fans have no idea how good he is and I am one. But if he comes out like he finished last season, he'll be quite a load. No one is faster.

 

[SJUBall]

Siva played on a bum ankle all season last year. He actually had a completely miserable season until he healed up. His sophomore year he led the BE in steals, in what was arguably - except for last March - his best year. Truth is, even Louisville fans have no idea how good he is and I am one. But if he comes out like he finished last season, he'll be quite a load. No one is faster.

Boatright might actually be faster. But Siva is excellent when he's under control.

 

[cap2nine]

If he's the best this conference has to offer, we suck.

Might be the worst preseason POY in conference history.

I'm back from my long hibernation of the off-season and I'm looking forward to my first FULL season of reading and posting here.

I agree with what I believe is the spirit of Jake's OP in that the BE is nowhere near the level that we have been accustomed to. When's the last time that only 3 teams from the Big East were in the preseason top 25? Or, the last time that Pitt, G'town, UConn and Marq were all absent? The truth is that the majority of the statistical leaders from last year's BE teams have moved on. L'ville is an exception to that, they're coming off a Final Four finish and BE Championship, Siva is a senior PG on what's expected to be the best team in the league and he finished last season with the best play of his career. So, as others have mentioned, he partly earned the POY honor and partly received it by default.

However, Siva is not even the best player on the UL team. He has proven himself to be reckless and if he wants to make the greatest contribution to his team this year, it will be by managing the game and getting his teammates fully involved, not by posting new highs in personal stats. Additionally, I believe we saw the best Siva has to offer at the end of last year. That's not a knock on Siva really because what we saw was pretty darn good. But I just don't see him reaching another "explosive" level or having the ability to take over a game and carry his team on his back if need be.

I, like others have said, would have been inclined to select Cooley or Dieng or even Vince Council as the preseason POY and I truly believe that come the end of the year a relative dark horse will emerge in the POY running. Someone that elevates his team to be competitive beyond the preseason expectations. Someone like the afore mentioned Council or maybe Napier or perhaps even Melvin Cleveland. And I wouldn't be a true SU fan if I didn't throw at least one Orange player in the hat so here are two (fairly conservative picks)... Fair and MCW.

All in all, in getting back to Jake's comment, the conference in general is waning in terms of elite talent and top tier competition. Perhaps this is the best time for us to segue to the ACC and what better way to say goodbye than with a BE Championship? Let's Go Orange!!

 

[strumpfasaurus]

speaking of POY how on God's green earth did the real melo not win naismith POY, let alone Big east POY? Was a joint being passed around before the voting?

 

[MikeSU02]

speaking of POY how on God's green earth did the real melo not win naismith POY, let alone Big east POY? Was a joint being passed around before the voting?

Frosh never won those awards until Melo had his season and cracked the ceiling. It allowed for guys like Durant to get the awards they really deserved.

Josh Howard and David West were the forwards on the 2003 1st team AA. Melo was second team, which was ridiculous.

 

[HOFCeluck]

Looking back its kind of funny that Troy Bell was BEPOY in 2003.

 

[raf4488]

I can't be the only one who thinks UL is pretty overrated. They're certainly a very good team, but top 5 and consensus 1st place BE? No way. They got a favorable tournament draw and made an excellent run (if only OSU could've beat MSU in the BIG tournament- damn), but were an unremarkable 10-8 in the league. I see no reason why Siva will all of a sudden stop turning the ball over, he's a good player that is just not consistent enough for a BE POY.

 

[orangefog]

Looking back its kind of funny that Troy Bell was BEPOY in 2003.

Troy Bell averaged 25.2 points per game and it was his third straight year averaging over 20ppg. We all know Carmelo was a superior player, but people didn't hand out awards to freshman beyone freshman of the year back then. Carmelo changed that, and quite a few have benefited from it.

 

[Senore2006]

To seem completely stubborn - and I add the caveats I already expressed about Peyton - his sophomore year was under the radar and exceptional. He played even or better with Kemba head to head 3 times. He led a very over performing Louisville team to two wins over you guys as well. Had we beaten UConn in the Finals of the BE, we would have gotten that 4 seed in Maryland, but we lost by 1. It was a fabulous year, totally savaged by the Morehead loss in the 1st round of the tourney. At that time, refer to your friends at UConn for their perceptions of Siva.

Otherwise, I only offer this for perspective. The way Behanen came on late last season, how Dieng played and the potential of Blackshear and Kevin Ware make it moot whether Peyton is the best player on the team. I thought the South Florida PG was awesome, myself, Council and Porter for G'town. I have always been a huge Triche fan. The race for POY is wide open.

Having said that, I'm voting for Russell Smith.

 

[PoppyHart]

Luke Hancock is also very good.

I agree.

 

[pearl31]

I agree.

Awesome dude! Way to dig this up to pat yourself on the back!
(that was quite the limb you went out on there, too)

 

[Captnhowdy]

Reali would negate you points for the self promotion.

 

[PoppyHart]

Awesome dude! Way to dig this up to pat yourself on the back!
(that was quite the limb you went out on there, too)

I'd care about your opinion if I cared about you.

 

[pearl31]

I'd care about your opinion if I cared about you.

aw poppy it don't gotta be that way!

 

[PoppyHart]

aw poppy it don't gotta be that way!

you are one of the most despicable people on this board. period.

 

[pearl31]

you are one of the most despicable people on this board. period.

and yet I still adore you!

 

[CaptainJ]

Actually, I'm guessing Jake is disliking this getting dug up more than anyone else Just playin, but I think Siva deserves credit for what he has done. Seems like a good kid too, hard for me not to like him even though for a long while I didn't.