New coach Lamont Paris brings two assistants from Chattanooga to Columbia
New South Carolina head men’s basketball coach Lamont Paris has hired a pair of assistant coaches from his former staff at Chattanooga.
Paris will bring top Chattanooga assistant Tanner Bronson with him to Columbia, the school’s board of trustees approved Friday. Bronson was one of Paris’ first hires with the Mocs in 2017 and coached with Paris all five years at Chattanooga.
The school also announced that Paris has hired Eddie Shannon as an assistant, after Shannon spent the last two years as one of Paris’ assistants. Shannon also served as an assistant for Canisius (2017-19) and as director of operations for Chattanooga prior to that. Shannon was a four-year starter for Billy Donovan at Florida and has familiarity with the SEC landscape.
“I am extremely excited to announce these additions to my staff and cannot wait to have them put their fingerprints on Gamecock basketball,” Paris said in the school’s official release. “Tanner has been with me since day one of my head coaching career. He’s extremely talented as a teacher as well as an evaluator and a recruiter. His impact on building a championship team and culture was incredibly significant. As a former standout guard in the SEC, Eddie Shannon is extremely familiar with this league and what it takes to be successful. He does a tremendous job with our perimeter players, and is very familiar with our geographic footprint from a recruiting standpoint.”
The terms of Bronson’s contract run from Friday through March 31, 2023 with a base salary of $290,000. If the men’s basketball team makes the NCAA tournament or the Final Four, Bronson will earn one month of his base salary for each achievement.
In his introductory press conference, Paris had hinted that he wanted to bring an assistant from his Mocs staff to USC.
“One of my assistant coaches right now is going to be in contention for the Chattanooga job,” Paris said. “So depending on what happens with that, some dominoes will fall.”
The Chattanooga head coaching job instead went to Dan Earl, who had coached the last seven years for Southern Conference foe VMI. That hiring cleared the way for Paris to reel in Bronson.
Beyond their time together on staff with the Mocs, Paris and Bronson also share a Wisconsin link as members of Bo Ryan’s coaching tree. Bronson started out as a student manager for the Badgers in 2004 before earning a roster spot and eventually a scholarship. Paris coached under Ryan and Greg Gard from 2010-17 before earning his first head coaching job with the Mocs.
Bronson’s other coaching stops include UNLV (2016-17), St. Louis (2011-16) and Sioux Falls in the G-league (2009-11).
“I am extremely grateful to be joining Lamont Paris at the University of South Carolina,” Bronson said in the school’s release. “I want to thank Athletics Director Ray Tanner for his belief in coach Paris’ ability to build a winning program here in Columbia. This incredible institution along with coach Paris’ vision is why I’m so excited to be a part of the Gamecock family.”
This story was originally published April 8, 2022 at 2:15 PM.
