 Though LMU represented the WCC in the 1961 NCAA Tournament, the Lions were consistently also rans in the WCC which included powerful University of San Francisco and Santa Clara University teams.Of note from LMU's early WCC teams is Rick Adelman, the 1968 WCC Player of the Year, who enjoyed a 7 year NBA career followed by a 30-year NBA coaching career.The Lions burst onto the national basketball scene in the late 1980s under coach Paul Westhead.