West Coast Convo’s Preseason Individual Awards

March 8, 2013; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Loyola Marymount Lions forward Taj Adams (10, left) and guard Anthony Ireland (3) celebrate against the Santa Clara Broncos during the second half in the quarterfinals of the West Coast Conference tournament at Orleans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Offensive Player of the Year – Anthony Ireland (Guard, LMU)

By Josh Horton

After an extraordinary season, Loyola Marymount’s Anthony Ireland will look to build off that success and turn LMU into a winner this year. Despite the Lions finishing dead last in the conference a year ago, Ireland was one of the best players – if not the best – averaging 20.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists. Even though Ireland is an established scorer, he will need to become more of a complete point guard and cut down on the turnovers (3.3 turnovers per game last season) if he wants to take his game to the next level and possibly be drafted to the NBA.