Ray Tanner addresses Lamont Paris’ contract as USC coach is linked to Ohio State job
Think about the first year of Lamont Paris’ time at South Carolina.
For starters, his hire was overshadowed by what national pundits were calling a “disjointed mess” of a hiring process. Numerous candidates reportedly turned down the Gamecocks. A few others backed out. And then Sean Miller — who may or may not have spent an evening at Halls Chophouse — took the Xavier job, leaving South Carolina looking silly.
To many fans, Paris was a fourth-option candidate who then didn’t inspire much confidence in year one, when the Gamecocks won just 11 games and had top NBA prospect G.G. Jackson on its roster.
And, now, the same fans who lambasted South Carolina athletic director Ray Tanner for hiring Paris are disappointed he hasn’t extended Paris’ contract — with the Gamecocks 21-4 overall and ranked No. 11 nationally — or slipped his men’s basketball coach a pen and a blank check.
“His focus is where it needs to be,” Tanner told The State on Wednesday morning. “I’m not gonna make any comments about, ‘At the end of the season, we’ll evaluate it.’ Sometimes that works. Sometimes, that’s not the appropriate time.
“So all I will says is, at the appropriate time, we’ll have those conversations.”
Tanner’s comments to The State came Wednesday just hours before Ohio State fired its longtime men’s basketball coach Chris Holtmann. Within minutes, Paris’ name was circulated by national pundits as someone who could be a favorite to be the Buckeyes’ next coach.
Paris flipped the script on the Gamecocks’ outlook, which is great for South Carolina, but any outside job rumors could become a distraction over the next few months. USC still has seven regular-season games to play, followed by the SEC and NCAA tournaments.
“If I am Ohio State, I interview Lamont Paris and see if something can be found there,” CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander said on his podcast.
College basketball pundit Jeff Goodman posted to X (Twitter) that the two names likely to sit atop Ohio State’s wish list are Paris and Miller. Goodman in a video interview on X declared Miller as the No. 1 likely target, with Paris among a half-dozen or so other names he mentioned.
“Lamont Paris is an interesting name because of what he’s done this year at South Carolina. He’s got Midwest ties,” Goodman said.
And, honestly, Paris’ name makes a lot of sense at Ohio State. The 49-year-old grew up in The Buckeye State. He played high school and college basketball in Ohio. He spent a good portion of his coaching career in Ohio and the Midwest as a whole.
And the Buckeyes would likely offer Paris a significant raise. Holtmann was making about $3.5 million a year.
Lamont Paris’ South Carolina contract and buyout
The logical next step for Tanner and South Carolina seems to be presenting Paris with a contract extension that drastically increases his annual compensation.
Heading into this season, Paris was the lowest-paid coach in the SEC, making $2.3 million annually with $100,000 raises in each of the next three years.
Paris, who is under contract through the 2026-27 season, also has a relatively low buyout. If he left on his own before April 1, he would owe South Carolina $4 million. If he left after April 1, that number would drop to $3 million.
For reference, Alabama coach Nate Oats currently has a $12 million buyout.
If Paris were to receive an extension, one would have to expect his buyout figure would increase as to dissuade other schools from trying to poach him in the future.
And the fact that we’re talking about this right now borders on miraculous. A year after winning 11 total games, South Carolina is ranked 11th in the country. There is a buzz around the Gamecocks, who are a surefire NCAA Tournament team at 21-4 overall.
It’s a massive credit for Paris and vindication for Tanner, who could ride around campus on a victory lap if he chose to do so.
“I don’t look at it that way,” Tanner told The State on Wednesday. “You always look at the slogan, ‘Did he win the press conference? Did she win the press conference?’ At the end of the day, that’s a very small part of a process.
“A lot of people, obviously, didn’t know a lot about him,” Tanner continued. “I felt like I did, based on the research.”
This story was originally published February 14, 2024 at 2:31 PM.
