UofL basketball star Peyton Siva opens Shoot 360 immersive training facility in Louisville

A former University of Louisville basketball player who helped lead the school to a national championship is redirecting his skills toward a new generation.

Peyton Siva Jr., who played on the UofL men’s basketball team from 2009-2013, has returned to Louisville and is readying to open an immersive basketball training center in Norton Commons later this month.

Shoot 360 is a technology-driven, membership-based training facility that aims to engage basketball players of all ages and develop their shooting, passing and other skills. Siva, a self-proclaimed video game lover, said younger players who may have grown up playing video games should find the tech format particularly appealing.

“They think they’re playing a game, but it’s helping them get better,” he said.

Digital screens tied to backboards provide instant analytics and feedback and an automatic rebound machine keeps the action flowing on five shooting courts.

The facility’s five skill courts drill and test ball handling and passing abilities, and in-person coaching supplements the digitally-driven aspects of the facility.

A grand opening is set for 4-8 p.m. Sept. 29, at the new Prospect business, operated out of a leased space at 9400 Dayflower St.

The idea to become a franchisee of the Oregon-based company has been bouncing around in Siva’s head for a while. A few years ago, he visited a location in Washington state owned by former Detroit Pistons teammate and fellow Seattle native Rodney Stuckey. He was impressed with what he saw.

“And fast forward to now, about a year ago, I was debating if I wanted to stop playing and was debating the next step in my career,” Siva told the Courier Journal. “I thought it was a great opportunity to come back to Louisville and bring this basketball facility here.”

Siva and his wife, Patience, will be the first Kentucky franchisees of Shoot 360, which has rapidly expanded in the last two years and has some 50 locations across the country and in Europe. The former point guard said he intends to open other locations in years to come but opening in Louisville first was important to him and where he envisions being most hands-on.

“I’ll be in the gym the majority of the time,” he said. “I’ll be running camps and clinics out of there.”

He’s currently hiring about a dozen staff members to help with day-to-day operations, including coaches.

What's on the menu? Breakfast AF brings creative breakfast, plus pizza, to Schnitzelburg.

Siva, who grew up playing basketball at a Boys & Girls Club in Seattle, said sharing his skills with the next generation feels right.

“I thought it was only right for me to do the same,” he said. “And if I can go into business doing that, it’s an added bonus.”

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Growth & development reporter Matthew Glowicki can be reached at mglowicki@courier-journal.com, 502-582-4000 or on Twitter @mattglo.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Peyton Siva, former Louisville basketball star, opens Shoot 360 gym