Lamont Paris’ to head up the men's basketball program at South Carolina
March 22, 2022
South Carolina is poised to hire Chattanooga’s Lamont Paris as its next head men’s basketball coach, with an official announcement expected this week. Paris will be the 33rd head coach in program history and will take over for 10-year head coach Frank Martin, who was fired on March 14. ESPN reported Paris and the Gamecocks agreed to a five-year contract. The 47-year-old led the Mocs to a 27-8 record this season and made the NCAA tournament, and Paris holds a career 87-71 record with the program in his five seasons. This year’s March Madness bid was Paris’ first as a head coach, and the No. 13-seed Mocs lost by one point to No. 4-seed Illinois. Prior to arriving in Chattanooga, he served as an assistant coach at Wisconsin from 2011-17, working under Bo Ryan and then Greg Gard.
What Lamont Paris’ needs to do?
TRY TO SALVAGE GG JACKSON RELATIONSHIP Ridge View High School’s G.G. Jackson, the No. 1 recruit in the 2023 class, was a top target for Martin and his coaching staff, and Martin said on the radio with Phil Kornblut this week that he believed the Gamecocks were going to land his commitment.
Holding on to the roster Only graduate students James Reese and A.J. Wilson aren’t eligible to return, but it seems likely if not probable that veterans Keyshawn Bryant, Jermaine Couisnard and Erik Stevenson will explore their professional options. Both Bryant and Couisnard dabbled in the NBA draft process a year ago. Also, there’s the transfer portal. March Madness is still going, and there are nearly 600 names already in the portal. Last year, seven Gamecocks transferred away from the team and six players transferred in. With a coaching change, there’s bound to be some roster attrition.
Look at this year's recruiting class shortly after Martin’s firing, Baltimore-based point guard Bryce Lindsay announced his decommitment from the Gamecocks. As it stands, the Gamecocks have two three-star 2022 signees in Daniel Hankins-Sanford out of Charlotte and Zach Davis out of Denmark. Both stand at 6-foot-8 and are raw, physical prospects. Much like Lindsay, both will have decisions to make now that Martin is no longer in the picture. Paris will have to decide, too, if Hankins-Sanford and Davis fit the mold of what he’s looking for in building the program. Either through the 2022 recruiting class or the transfer portal or both, expect Paris to put his own imprint on the program over the next few weeks.
March 22, 2022
South Carolina is poised to hire Chattanooga’s Lamont Paris as its next head men’s basketball coach, with an official announcement expected this week. Paris will be the 33rd head coach in program history and will take over for 10-year head coach Frank Martin, who was fired on March 14. ESPN reported Paris and the Gamecocks agreed to a five-year contract. The 47-year-old led the Mocs to a 27-8 record this season and made the NCAA tournament, and Paris holds a career 87-71 record with the program in his five seasons. This year’s March Madness bid was Paris’ first as a head coach, and the No. 13-seed Mocs lost by one point to No. 4-seed Illinois. Prior to arriving in Chattanooga, he served as an assistant coach at Wisconsin from 2011-17, working under Bo Ryan and then Greg Gard.
What Lamont Paris’ needs to do?
TRY TO SALVAGE GG JACKSON RELATIONSHIP Ridge View High School’s G.G. Jackson, the No. 1 recruit in the 2023 class, was a top target for Martin and his coaching staff, and Martin said on the radio with Phil Kornblut this week that he believed the Gamecocks were going to land his commitment.
Holding on to the roster Only graduate students James Reese and A.J. Wilson aren’t eligible to return, but it seems likely if not probable that veterans Keyshawn Bryant, Jermaine Couisnard and Erik Stevenson will explore their professional options. Both Bryant and Couisnard dabbled in the NBA draft process a year ago. Also, there’s the transfer portal. March Madness is still going, and there are nearly 600 names already in the portal. Last year, seven Gamecocks transferred away from the team and six players transferred in. With a coaching change, there’s bound to be some roster attrition.
Look at this year's recruiting class shortly after Martin’s firing, Baltimore-based point guard Bryce Lindsay announced his decommitment from the Gamecocks. As it stands, the Gamecocks have two three-star 2022 signees in Daniel Hankins-Sanford out of Charlotte and Zach Davis out of Denmark. Both stand at 6-foot-8 and are raw, physical prospects. Much like Lindsay, both will have decisions to make now that Martin is no longer in the picture. Paris will have to decide, too, if Hankins-Sanford and Davis fit the mold of what he’s looking for in building the program. Either through the 2022 recruiting class or the transfer portal or both, expect Paris to put his own imprint on the program over the next few weeks.
