LMU Notes

Now Anthony Ireland has made a name for himself.

Loyola Marymount's point guard has established himself as one of the elite floor leaders in the WCC and maybe even in the entire country. He's far from a household name beyond the west coast, but the 5-foot-9 junior, who hails from Connecticut and attended Winchendon (Mass.) prep school, earned first-team All-WCC honors last season.

LMU made a huge leap and became an instant contender last season. The Lions’ turnaround was fueled by healthy players. That will be the case again this season.

They are down three starters but bring in one of the best recruiting classes in the conference. They picked up wins at Saint Mary’s and at BYU and could be on the verge on breaking into the top tier of the league.

LMU should be an exciting team again this year but let’s take a deeper look.

Outlook
Health has been a major concern for Loyola Marymount over the last two seasons and that has been reflected in the team’s finish in WCC play.

LMU had six of their top eight players in 2010-11 miss more than 60 combined games, more than five times the total of the other seven WCC schools combined. They finished last that season. Last year, they did have injuries but just nowhere near as many. Drew Viney, Ashley Hamilton, and Jarred DuBois all missed games but LMU managed to finish in fourth.

They are fairly healthy heading into the season but depth is a problem. The Lions should be towards the top of the league again but this is critical to that success.

Backcourt
The Lions may have the best playmaker in the league with Anthony Ireland. The junior guard has been LMU’s most consistent player over the last two seasons and he is a big part of the reason they were a contender last year.

“Anthony Ireland, obviously, I think is an underrated guard nationally,” LMU head coach Max Good said. “They’ve got several people ahead of him that I don’t think are comparable to him let alone better. He’ll have this year to prove this.”

But aside from Ireland, they will also have a number of young players that should provide a spark. Bruce English and Chase Flint have played well early on in camp and Good will be relying on them to produce early.

They will also be looking to CJ Blackwell for a boost after he returns from a lingering knee problem. Good hopes to have him back for the Great Alaska Shootout. Junior guard Ayodeji Egbeyemi had wrist surgery at the end of the year but has recovered well and played in the team scrimmage over the weekend.

Top recruit Nick Stover will also see minutes early on.

LMU will also have to overcome the loss of senior guard Jarred DuBois, who transferred during the summer in search of more minutes at the point guard position.

Frontcourt
Without Drew Viney the onus falls onto Ashley Hamilton and Godwin Okonji to fill the offensive gap he left and Good said both have done a lot of work in the offseason to help that cause.

“I think they have some toughness and they bring that back-East toughness to our program,” Good said. “Ashley has gotten a lot better. Ashley’s biggest problem, he fights himself, he gets down on himself. He’s overcome that to a great extent.”

“Godwin has improved a lot offensively,” he continued.” “He’s worked very hard on post moves in the offseason. He’s gotten stronger. He’s put on 10 to 12 pound of muscle. He’s only 6-8 but he plays much bigger than that.”
But more than any players on the team, their health is paramount. The depth at the center and forward positions is thin and inexperienced.

“We don’t have the kind of quality depth that we can lose major players,” Good said.

Notes
The success of Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s, and BYU has raised the stakes in the recruiting game in the WCC. Good said teams have had to become more aggressive in their recruiting in response.

“Everybody had to up the game,” Good said. “We had to get serious. We couldn’t just settle for with everybody else pick their recruits and then we take what’s leftover. I don’t think there is a coach in the league good enough to do that. It’s not about coaches. It’s about players. I don’t care who good the jockey is, a mule has never won the Kentucky Derby.”

DoubleDipper wrote:To make room for these new guys, it was announced that sophomore SG Bruce English and freshman PF Marin Mornar from Croatia will be transferring.

DoubleDipper wrote:LMU is finally getting the next “super star from Zambia,“ Patson Diame, the 6’10” C/F who decided to gain more experience by spending an extra year at Trinity International Prep School in Nevada will enter LMU this summer.

Head Coach Max Good announced that seniors Ayodeji Egbeyemi and Godwin Okonji will miss an indefinite portion of the 2013-14 season due to injuries suffered in an automobile accident while heading to practice around 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 20. Both players were admitted to Marina Hospital shortly before 8 a.m. and were released later that afternoon.

"We are very thankful that both Godwin and Ayodeji are doing well and were able to come home following the accident," said Good. "While they are doing well, both suffered various levels of injuries that will take time to heal. In talking with our doctors, we feel Ayodeji should be back soon, while we will have to wait and see on the condition of Godwin. He suffered injuries to his left leg that will require further examination from his doctors. At this time, we are just thankful that they are with us."

DoubleDipper wrote:One might think his 22 points per game is just "average," but when you take into consideration he averaged only a little over 9 minutes per game......that pencils out to something like 97 points for every 40 minutes of playing time.  

DoubleDipper wrote:LMU is starting the Aussie pipeline too.  Gunner David Humphries, an Australian who has been playing at North Iowa Area Community College, has signed to begin playing this fall.

One might think his 22 points per game is just "average," but when you take into consideration he averaged only a little over 9 minutes per game......that pencils out to something like 97 points for every 40 minutes of playing time.  

DeanMurdoch wrote:That, or the mighty North Iowa Area CC doesn't properly track minutes played. Go Trojans.

PurpleGeezer wrote:Well, it wouldn't be the first time a school has stashed a player at a cc with a promise of a scholarship in the future.

DoubleDipper wrote:LMU recently received commitments from a couple of freshmen guards, Nino Jackson and Evan Payne, both 6’2” from Kingdom Christian Academy in Georgia.  Jackson is said to be the real deal having scored over 40 points in a number of games this past season.

DoubleDipper wrote:It is now being reported that All-WCC Freshman Gabe Levin is departing the team and will transfer.  I thought Levin was a huge contributor in his first year at LMU, averaging over 7 rebounds and over 11 points.  Except for the graduation of Anthony Ireland, I think the loss of Levin is the biggest blow to the Lions to date this offseason.

DoubleDipper wrote:My guess: Payne, and possibly Siame, won't be the last departures this season.