Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Cody Zeller, Peyton Siva headline Blue Ribbon Yearbook Preseason All-Americans

Cody Zeller

Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook has released its annual Preseason All-American team.

The 2012-13 team follows last year’s team that featured three NBA first-round picks (Terrence Jones, Jared Sullinger, and Harrison Barnes) and a national champion (Jones).

Take a look at Blue Ribbon’s 2012-13 team below:

Peyton Siva, Louisville

Siva, fresh off a Big East tournament title and a trip to the Final Four in New Orleans, enters his senior year as the point guard for a team that will have high expectations.

Alongside Gorgui Dieng and Chane Behanan, Louisville is likely the favorite to win the conference and some will predict a national championship for the Cardinals.

Last season, Siva averaged 9.1 points, 5.6 assists, and 3.2 rebounds per game for Louisville.

Michael Snaer, Florida State

Last week, Snaer expressed his belief that he is “the best two-guard in the country” and a selection to Blue Ribbon’s team might help to validate that assertion.

He averaged 14.0 points and 3.8 rebounds per game in a breakout season for the Seminoles in 2011-12. Perhaps Duke fans will remember him most for this huge shot at Cameron Indoor which allowed FSU to escape with a win.

Deshaun Thomas, Ohio State

Thomas decided not to follow his teammate Jared Sullinger into the draft and is a Preseason All-American because of it.

He averaged 15.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game last season, but the biggest question will be whether he picks up the defensive intensity.

“I like playing defense now,’’ Thomas was quoted as saying during the NCAA tournament last season. “It’s a game-changer. Last year, I used to just come in the game, chuck threes. I didn’t care about defense. I take very good pride in it now. It’s just that scoring mentality. Coming out of high school, I had the green light. So now I can do more: put it on the floor, pass, knock down open shots.’’

Doug McDermott, Creighton

As just a sophomore last season, McDermott put up a stellar 22.9 points and 8.2 rebounds per game for Creighton.

He now returns and is the centerpiece of a team looking to improve on a 26-9 finish. He was an AP All-American in 2011-12 and will look to repeat this season.

Cody Zeller, Indiana

Speaking of centerpieces, Zeller is just that for the team that many expect to be No. 1 when the first poll is released this fall.

The 6-11, 230-pound sophomore averaged 15.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game for an Indiana team that reached the Sweet 16.

Indiana welcomes an important recruiting class for the 2012-13 season, but Zeller will once again be the focus.

Daniel Martin is a writer and editor at JohnnyJungle.com, covering St. John’s. You can find him on Twitter:@DanielJMartin_