« Men’s Basketball 2013-14

Anthony Ireland

School
Loyola Marymount
Position
Guard
Major
Sociology
PPG
18.5
RPG
3.9
APG
5.4

Classroom

Anthony went to Crosby High School in Waterbury, Connecticut. It was there he learned to balance his academic work with his commitment to his athlete career. At LMU, Anthony has dedicated himself to completing his major in Sociology in four years; an accomplishment that is difficult to achieve for even those students who are non-athletes.

As a well-known basketball player on campus, Anthony has remained very approachable and amenable towards his fellow students. He has presented himself as a role-model and focused student and this has most certainly had an impact on those LMU students that look to Anthony as an example.

Character

It is Anthony’s character that stands out the most. Despite the fact that he is a well-decorated and celebrated athlete, and that he maintains celebrity status on campus/community, Anthony remains a humble, modest and unassuming student and teammate. It is unheard of to recognize an athlete from the competition with a standing ovation – but that is exactly what happened when LMU traveled to Gonzaga. The Gonzaga fans, by far the most vocal, and aggressive fans in the WCC, honored Anthony with a standing ovation when he left the game last season. He has not missed a game in his three-year career, playing in all 100 of the games LMU has played the last three years. He has done this while losing a tooth during a game, not missing a second in the process against Alaska-Anchorage; playing the season needing knee surgery as a junior; needing stitches in his lower lip during a game as sophomore. As the Lions lone scoring threat in 2012-13, he was the target of opposing defenses who played aggressive against him, sending him to the line 203 times, ranked 12th all-time in LMU history. Despite the aggressive play against him, Anthony never raised his hands after a three, never raised his voice to an offical and always shook hands with those after the game. Head Coach Max Good, who has coached for more than 45 years, states he is the strongest willed and most humble players he has ever coached.

Community

Anthony has found the time to participate in community activities and charitable events both as a member of the LMU men’s basketball program and on his own; he has been a participant and volunteer for Relay for Life, a national organization benefiting the American Cancer Society. He has also been an active participant in Hope for Haiti, a non-profit organization that works to improve the quality of life for the Haitian people, particularly children, through education, nutrition, and healthcare.

Locally, Anthony participates in LMU Family of Schools. This is an association that focuses on creating and supporting a partnership between LMU and the schools located in the Westchester area. Anthony has spent time visiting local schools and giving his time to the youth through tutoring and companionship. He has also be a part of Project Knapsack, which is a program partnering local schools with schools in Africa where Ireland and the men’s basketball team work with local elementary students in writing letters and preparing backpacks of school supplies for children in Africa.

Another organization that Anthony has committed his time to is Athletes 4 Athletes. Anthony spends time working with other athletes on writing resumes, cover letters, and general career-building activities.

Competition

Anthony Ireland finished second in the WCC and 14th nationally with 20.2 ppg in 2012-13. He finished with 688 points, seventh all-time at LMU and is just the 15th time someone has scored at least 600 points in a single season in LMU’s rich scoring history. Ireland is the first Lion to earn back-to-back first-team All-WCC honors since 2007 and is just the second junior to do it all-time, joining Hank Gathers as the only Lion to do so. In playing every game LMU has played in his career, Ireland was named LMU’s first NABC All-District selection as a sophomore and was a Lou Henson Preseason All-American and honorable mention Jesuit All-American in 2011-12. He is in the top-20 in 16 career statistical categories at LMU, including 10th in scoring with 1,576 points, eighth in assists with 384 and 10th in steals with 147. In the last two seasons, Ireland has played 2,515 of a possible 2,755 minutes (91.2 percent), leading the Lions in scoring in 30 of 34 games last season. The Lions have made the WCC quarterfinals or beyond in each of his seasons, joining Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s as the only teams to do so. He led LMU to three straight WCC tourney wins last year, falling to No. 1 Gonzaga in the semifinals. He was named first-team WCC All-Tourney as a result.