Lamont Paris to South Carolina: 3 reasons for excitement, 3 reasons for concern
South Carolina men’s basketball is reportedly closing in on its new head head coach.
Multiple reports surfaced on Monday that USC was targeting Chattanooga’s Lamont Paris to replace Frank Martin in Columbia. ESPN, citing sources, reported Monday night that the hire was done, pending South Carolina board of trustees approval this week.
What would Paris bring to South Carolina? A closer look at where fans can find excitement and three reasons they might be concerned.
Reasons for excitement
South Carolina is hiring a coach with a track record of success
It’s not all that long ago South Carolina fans lauded the hiring of Frank Martin, who’d built a consistent winner at Kansas State before coming to Columbia.
Paris doesn’t have that kind of history, but he did an impressive job steadying the ship at Chattanooga over his five seasons guiding the Mocs.
Taking over for Matt McCall — who left Chattanooga for UMass in 2017 — Paris was just 22-43 over his first two seasons as head coach. He followed that by winning at least 18 games in three consecutive seasons and earning just the Mocs’ fourth NCAA tournament berth since 1998.
Paris’ 2021-22 squad narrowly missed out on an upset of Illinois in the first round of the NCAA tournament last week, falling 54-53. The loss marked the end of a 27-7 season and a 14-4 record in Southern Conference play.
Paris has been around one of college basketball’s best coaches
The biggest knock on candidates like Furman’s Bob Richey or Wake Forest assistant BJ McKie throughout South Carolina’s search was their limited exposure to the top level of college basketball.
Paris, by contrast, spent five years as an assistant for Bo Ryan at Wisconsin as the Badgers climbed toward the top of the Big Ten. Wisconsin reached two Sweet 16s and the national title game over that span while rostering players like Frank Kaminsky, Sam Dekker and Nigel Hayes.
Following Ryan’s in 2015, Paris was elevated to associate head coach under Greg Gard. He remained in that role until landing the head coaching job at Chattanooga.
Hiring Paris is a landmark moment for South Carolina
There has never been a Black head coach of the men’s basketball or football teams at South Carolina. That will now change.
Paris will become the first Black man to occupy the head office for either of USC’s major revenue sports. That won’t necessarily affect wins and losses, but it marks a progressive moment for the athletic department and the state of South Carolina.
3 reasons for concern
South Carolina’s search for a head coach was a public mess
It’s no secret South Carolina chased bigger fish than Paris throughout its hunt to replace Martin.
Former Arizona head coach Sean Miller’s name surfaced almost immediately after Martin was fired, and USC’s public flirtation with him led some to prognosticate he’d be the new head coach sooner than later.
Fast-forward about a week and Miller is headed to Xavier, while South Carolina is in the midst of a public relations firestorm that has thrust blame onto athletic director Ray Tanner for a wayward coaching search.
USC also had dalliances with Dennis Gates and Matt McMahon, who are expected to be the next head coaches at Missouri and LSU, respectively. One report went as far to say Gates was a top target but moved on from South Carolina when he interviewed but wasn’t offered the job right away.
That’s not to mention the Gamecocks sided with Paris over McKie — a program legend who’s well-respected in South Carolina coaching circles, albeit slightly green for a power conference head coaching job.
South Carolina will almost certainly tout Paris as the man it wanted throughout the process, but the public nature of USC’s whiffs on other options has already caused serious blowback from a frustrated fan base.
The last Chattanooga head coach to jump up a level was fired this year
McCall already received mention up top, but his run at UMass might cause some trepidation.
The former Florida assistant spent two years as the head coach at Chattanooga after Will Wade left for VCU and, eventually, LSU. McCall went 48-18 over that span at Chattanooga, earning a trip to the NCAA tournament in 2015-16.
The success stopped there.
Following his second season at Chattanooga, McCall took the head coaching job at UMass, where he compiled a 60-81 record over his five years. He never recorded more than 14 wins in that time and was fired at the end of the 2021-22 season.
That’s not to say Paris can’t work at South Carolina. Wade, after all, was a highly successful head coach at VCU and LSU before NCAA misdeeds cost him his job. McCall’s time at UMass, though, isn’t exactly inspiring.
Paris doesn’t have ties to the Carolinas
This might not matter in the long run, but Paris’ lack of geographic ties could become a point of contention in the coming months.
Martin was maligned throughout his tenure for not landing enough of the top talent in the state of South Carolina. On paper, a candidate like McKie had natural inroads on that front.
Paris, by contrast, has spent nearly his entire coaching career in the Midwest. In fairness, he’s recruited all over the country — including bringing eight players on this year’s Chattanooga team to the Mocs via transfer.
It’d be surprising if at least one of Paris’ eventual staff members didn’t have ties to the Carolinas when all the hiring is said and done.
This story was originally published March 21, 2022 at 8:21 PM.
