Who should be South Carolina’s next basketball coach? Tell us in our poll
South Carolina’s search for a new men’s basketball coach took a turn Saturday.
The big news: Former Arizona head coach Sean Miller chose Xavier over South Carolina, according to reports. The Gamecocks were aggressive in their pursuit of Miller but were turned down, national writer Matt Norlander reporter.
Elsewhere, Cleveland State’s Dennis Gates is reportedly close to a deal to be Missouri’s new coach.
We’re still hearing that a decision could come early this week. You tell us: Who should the Gamecocks hire to replace Frank Martin? Vote in our poll now. See the bios below of those believed to be among South Carolina’s top targets.
BJ McKie, Wake Forest (assistant)
The former Gamecock great and current Wake Forest assistant would be a popular hire with the fan base. McKie has been assistant at three different spots: Charleston Southern (2011-17), East Tennessee State (2017-2020) and Wake Forest (2020-present).
McKie has no head coaching experience, which would be a big drawback — but USC football coach Shane Beamer was a career assistant before landing the Gamecocks’ top job.
Matt McMahon, Murray State
McMahon is one of the hottest names on the coaching carousel this year after getting Murray State to its third NCAA tournament in five years.
The Tennessee native has ties to the Carolinas after spending time at UNC Wilmington and Appalachian State as an assistant coach. He also played his college basketball for the Mountaineers.
Lamont Paris, Chattanooga
ESPN’s Borzello lists the five-year Mocs head coach as a potential replacement for the Gamecocks after he led Chattanooga to a Southern Conference title game win over Furman. The Mocs went 27-8 (14-4) this season, and Paris holds a career 85-71 record with the program in his five seasons.
Prior to arriving in Chattanooga, Paris served as an assistant coach at Wisconsin from 2011-17.
Bob Richey, Furman
The Florence, South Carolina native has won 71.7% of his games since taking over Furman in 2017. He has four 20-win seasons — and Furman knocked off defending champion Villanova in 2018.
Prior to his time at Furman (including from 2011 to 2017 as an assistant), he was an assistant at Charleston Southern for more than half a decade. Furman played in the Southern Conference championship game this year before losing to Chattanooga on last second shot.
