Anthony Ireland (basketball)

Anthony Ireland

Personal information
Born	(1991-09-25) September 25, 1991 (age 33) Waterbury, Connecticut
Nationality	American
Listed height	5 ft 9.25 in (1.76 m)
Listed weight	173.8 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High school	Crosby High School (Waterbury, Connecticut)
College	Loyola Marymount (2010–2014)
NBA draft	2014: undrafted
Playing career	2014–2022
Position	Point guard
Career history
2014–2015	Élan Chalon
2015–2016	Arkadikos
2016–2017	Trefl Sopot
2017–2018	Juventus Utena
2018–2019	Avtodor Saratov
2019–2020	Benfica
2021	Egis Körmend
2021–2022	HydroTruck Radom
Career highlights and awards
3× First-team All-WCC (2012–2014)

Anthony Ireland (born September 25, 1991) is an American former professional basketball player. A native of Waterbury, Connecticut, Ireland notably played collegiate basketball at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA from 2010 to 2014 before embarking a professional career spanning across Europe.

College career

Loyola Marymount University (2010–14)

Ireland was a four-year standout for the Loyola Marymount Lions Men's Basketball program from 2010 to 2014 under the tutelage of Head Coach Max Good. He earned First Team All-WCC honors three times from 2012 to 2014. ^[1] Ireland is considered one of the best players in school history, and was described by Coach Good and Los Angeles Times journalist Bill Dwyre as a tough, fearless player who used ball screens effectively, had deep 3-point range, and drove aggressively to the basket despite his small stature. ^[2]

During Ireland's sophomore season, the Lions recorded one of their winningest seasons in school history, posting a 21–13 record, 11–5 in WCC play. The Lions earned a postseason berth in the 2012 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, where they fell to Utah State in the quarterfinals. Ireland earned his first of three consecutive First Team All-WCC accolades.

Ireland averaged over 20 points per game in his junior season while leading the Lions on an improbable run to the WCC Tournament Semifinals, despite finishing 1–15 in WCC play. The Lions season ended with a 66–48 loss to nationally No. 1 ranked Gonzaga. ^[3]

Ireland's senior season saw him dive further into the LMU record books, eclipsing the 2,000 career points mark and being named First Team All-WCC for a third time. However, the Lions finished in last place again in WCC play, leading to the firing of Coach Good.

In 2019, Ireland was inducted into the LMU Athletics Hall of Fame. At the time of his induction, Ireland held the record for most games played in school history, ranked second all-time in assists and steals, third in total scoring, and fifth in 3-pointers made. ^[4]

Professional career

Playing overseas

After completing his collegiate career, Ireland opted to pursue professional options in Europe over playing in the NBA D-League due to financial reasons. ^[5] In preparation for the first stop of his professional career in France, Ireland took part in the 2014 Greater Hartford Pro-Am league. ^[6]

Ireland spent his first professional season in France in 2014–15, playing for Elan Chalon of the Ligue Nationale de Basket (LNB), averaging 9.3 points and 3.4 assists per contest in 30 games. ^[7]

NBA Summer League

After one season in France, Ireland participated in the 2015 NBA Summer League as a Los Angeles Lakers organization member. Ireland appeared in 3 games, scoring just a single point in his brief Summer League stint.

Back overseas

Ireland returned overseas to play in 9 games for Arkadikos B.C. of the Greek Basket League, averaging over 6.2 points per game in the 2015–16 season.

Ireland spent parts of the 2015–16 and 2016–17 seasons with Trefl Sopot in the Polska Liga Koszykowki (PLK). Anthony posted averages of 19.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3 assists per game in his first season with Trefl, and 17.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game in his second season. ^[8]

Moving to Utenos Juventus of the Lithuanian Basketball League in 2017–18, Ireland averaged 14.2 points and 4.7 assists per game in league play. Juventus also participated in the Basketball Champions League and the 2018 FIBA Europe Cup. ^[9]

On October 18, 2018, Ireland signed with Russian team Avtodor Saratov of the VTB United League. ^[10] Ireland averaged 7.5 points per game in 13 contests in 2019 Europe Cup play.

For the 2019–20 season, Ireland signed with S.L. Benfica in the Liga Portuguesa de Basquetebol (LPB). Ireland had his most productive Europe Cup performance, averaging 15.1 points, 6.6 assists, and 4.9 rebounds per game.

In January 2021, Ireland joined Egis Kormend of the Nemzeti Bajnokság I/A, playing for Coach Ziga Mravljak. ^[11] Ireland put up 14.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game in his lone season in Hungary.

On May 4, 2021, he returned to the PLK, signing with HydroTruck Radom. ^{[12] [13]} In 2021–22, Ireland averaged 14.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 6.5 assists per game.

Career statistics

Loyola Marymount University (2010–14)

Source: ^[14]

SEASON	TEAM	GP	GS	W-L	MIN	FG%	3P%	FT%	REB	AST	STL	BLK	PTS
2010-11	LMU Lions	32	25	11-21	31.0	39.4	34.5	71.0	3.7	3.0	1.0.	0.2	10.6
2011-12	LMU Lions	34	33	21-13	36.5	44.0	33.8	77.1	3.9	4.9	1.7	0.0	16.1
2012-13	LMU Lions	34	34	11-23	37.5	41.3	37.6	82.3	4.4	3.6	1.7	0.0	20.1
2013-14	LMU Lions	32	32	13-19	35.2	40.9	31.3	81.7	3.7	5.4	1.7	0.1	18.0
Career Averages					35.1	41.5	34.5	79.6	3.9	4.2	1.5	0.1	16.5

Professional Statistics (2014–2022)

Source: ^[15]

SEASON	TEAM	LEAGUE	GP	W-L	MIN	FG%	3P%	FT%	REB	AST	STL	TO	BLK	PTS
14-15	Chalon	FRA-1	30	17-13	24.7	43.8	32.3	84.1	2.6	3.4	0.9	1.7	0.0	9.3
15-16	Arkadikos	GRE-1	8	3-5	13.9	43.2	36.4	73.7	1.8	1.6	0.4	1.3	0.0	7.0
15-16	Trefl Sopot	POL-1	7	3-4	28.7	43.5	54.5	62.5	4.7	3.0	1.4	1.9	0.1	19.7
16-17	Trefl Sopot	POL-1	32	18-14	28.8	48.5	38.4	89.3	2.8	2.8	0.8	2.1	0.1	17.6
17-18	Juventus	LIT-1	26	9-16	27.0	44.4	44.9	87.5	3.6	4.7	1.4	2.5	0.0	14.2
18-19	Avtodor Saratov	VTB L.	21	7-14	15.6	41.7	42.9	89.7	1.5	3.0	0.4	1.0	0.0	7.6
19-20	S.L. Benfica	POR-1	14	13-1	20.3	42.0	36.8	83.3	2.7	5.6	1.2	1.9	0.0	8.1
20-21	Egis Kormend	HUN-1	13	6-7	26.4	47.9	36.2	77.3	2.3	4.8	1.2	2.5	0.0	14.8
21-22	HydroTruck Radom	POL-1	28	5-23	30.9	40.0	33.6	80.2	3.3	6.5	0.9	3.5	0.0	14.6

Personal life

Family

Ireland and his younger brother Elijah were raised by his single-mother, Lynda Carter. As his mom toiled to provide for her son, their family moved all across the country, ranging from Connecticut to Arkansas and San Diego. ^[16]

Education

Ireland graduated from Crosby High School in Connecticut in 2009 - where he lettered in basketball and cross-country. He spent a post-graduate year at Winchendon School to improve his basketball skills, academics, and discipline. ^[16] He completed his undergraduate study at Loyola Marymount University in 2014, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in African American Studies. ^[17]

AI3 Foundation

In 2015, Ireland cofounded a foundation, AI3 Leadership Academy, in Waterbury, Connecticut that works to nurture young minds to be the best that they can be as leaders, on and off the basketball court. His nonprofit focuses on the personal and social development of its participants by encouraging them to do what they love, be involved in community engagement, interact in positive social change and develop valuable attributes and characteristics that will help them thrive individually and communally as young adults and responsible citizens.^{[ citation needed ]}

The AI3 Leadership Academy was created by Ireland and childhood friend, Joe Summa, with the intention of bridging people of all backgrounds within the Waterbury community through basketball. This foundation was a response to the deteriorating of outdoor courts in the Waterbury area, and to give the youth a physical place to play basketball. ^[18] The 2019 AI3 Skills camp had an attendance of over 200 kids, helping to fulfill Ireland's vision. ^[19]

References

1. "WCC Announces Men's Basketball All-Conference Team". wccsports.com. 2014-03-03. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
2. Dwyre, Bill (2014-02-06). "Anthony Ireland missed out on glory". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
3. Tansey, Joe. "College Basketball: Loyola Marymount's Improbable Run in WCC Tourney Continues". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
4. Roberts, Kevin (2018-12-02). "Anthony Ireland to be inducted into LMU Athletics Hall of Fame". Sports on CT-69. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
5. "Crosby High grad Anthony Ireland chooses to play overseas over NBA D League". fox61.com. February 11, 2016. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
6. "Anthony Ireland Preps To Take His Game International". fox61.com. August 5, 2014. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
7. Roberts, Kevin (2015-12-17). "Anthony Ireland putting up respectable numbers for Arkadikos". Sports on CT-69. Retrieved 2023-05-27.
8. Roberts, Kevin (2017-08-11). "Anthony Ireland to take next step in pro hoop career in Lithuania". Sports on CT-69. Retrieved 2023-05-27.
9. Roberts, Kevin (2018-03-25). "Former Crosby star Ireland has played all over Europe this season with Utenos Juventus". Sports on CT-69. Retrieved 2023-05-27.
10. "Anthony Ireland signs with Avtodor Saratov". sportando.basketball. October 18, 2018. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
11. "Anthony Ireland to Egis Kormend – Latest Basketball News" . Retrieved 2023-05-27.
12. "Anthony Ireland zawodnikiem HydroTrucka" (in Polish). plk.pl. May 4, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
13. Skerletic, Dario (2021-05-04). "HydroTruck Radom ink Anthony Ireland - Sportando". Sportando. Retrieved 2023-05-27.
14. "Anthony Ireland College Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
15. Proballers. "Anthony Ireland, Basketball Player". Proballers. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
16. Cacabelos, Kevin (2013-11-07). "From nowhere to big time: LMU's hungry and humble leader". Los Angeles Loyolan. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
17. "Anthony Ireland LinkedIn".
18. Devoe, Ken; Summa, Joe; Evans, Mike. "Bringing Communities Together in Waterbury Through Basketball" (PDF). International Association Approved Basketball Officials, Inc. Retrieved 2023-12-20.
19. Anthony Ireland - My Why , retrieved 2023-05-20

External links

• NBADraft.net profile
• Loyola Marymount Lions profile
• Eurobasket.com profile
• Sports Reference profile
• Anthony Ireland international stats at Basketball-Reference.com
• Pro Ballers International Career Statistics