COLUMBIA, S.C. — Following South Carolina's 75-60 victory over Vanderbilt on Feb. 10, a large group of Gamecocks fans at Colonial Life Arena refused to budge, even when a frustrated security guard urged to the team's followers to leave the facilities. Huddled along the court's baseline, shoulder to shoulder near the entrance to the home team's tunnel, they stayed because they wanted a photo with coach Lamont Paris, a national coach of the year candidate, and his players, who have orchestrated one of the most impressive turnarounds of the college basketball season.
“Last season they didn't stay like that after games,” the security guard said.
A year ago, South Carolina played most of its games in front of a half-empty home stadium en route to an 11-21 record in Paris's first season as head coach. This year, the No. 20 Gamecocks, who will play at Ole Miss on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network, are legitimate contenders in the SEC race and one of the biggest surprises in men's college basketball.
The Paris team is 21-5 and is in third place in the SEC standings, just 1.5 games behind conference leader Alabama. And now, not only are there more fans in the stands for home games, but they show up in a particular type of uniform: zip-up sweatshirts, Paris's preferred attire. “The quarter-zip is a very versatile piece of clothing,” Paris said.
South Carolina, picked to finish last in the SEC in the league's preseason poll, reached No. 11 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll last week, its highest ranking since the 1997-98 season, after a seven-game winning streak. Their resume includes wins over Kentucky and Tennessee, and ESPN's Joe Lunardi has the Gamecocks firmly positioned in the NCAA Tournament field as a seventh seed in his latest bracketology.
“I mean, shoot, [the voters in the preseason poll] I basically said, 'You guys are the worst players.' You are the worst team. You're not going to be good,'” said Meechie Johnson, a junior guard who averages 13.8 points per game. “That's how we saw it. And obviously we just didn't think that way about ourselves.”
Paris didn't think that way about his team either. He knew all the moves he made in the offseason to add the right pieces and build the right culture for this year's group. And now everyone can see that those measures have changed the program's fortunes. The addition of Wofford transfer BJ Mack (13.8 points per game) improved South Carolina's offensive capabilities in the paint. Paris also used the aging portal (South Carolina had one of the youngest Power 5 teams a year ago) with veteran players helping this team go from a sub-200 defensive efficiency ranking in 2022-23 to a in the top 60 this season. Those improvements helped South Carolina go from a 21-loss season just a year ago to a 21-win season today.
“Did you choose my team in the end?” Paris said of the SEC preseason poll. “The last thing is what you're going to say? Yeah? Okay. Come on. Bring it. That mentality has transferred to a lot of our players.”
That's not to say everything this season has gone well: The team has lost its last two games, one of which was a 40-point blowout at Auburn on Valentine's Day.
But Paris feels more comfortable in the midst of adversity.
When he was 11 years old in Findlay, Ohio, he told those around him that he would be the first person in his family to attend college. Paris's parents always taught their children to keep their heads held high, even if the odds were against them, and sometimes they were. Paris said he remembers going through the checkout line at the local supermarket and paying with food stamps. But he never felt ashamed.
“You had to pick up the tray, take out the orange money, and everyone was like, 'Oh, food stamp people,'” Paris said. “It didn't affect us. It didn't make us feel worse.”
After graduating in 1996 from the College of Wooster, where he was a two-time captain of the men's basketball team, he decided to pursue a coaching career, first as an assistant at Wooster and then at four other schools over the course of the century. course of 20 years.
He earned just $10,000 and slept on a mattress on a cement basement floor while studying at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. But he kept working to get better jobs. After a seven-year stint as an assistant at Wisconsin, he finally got his first opportunity as a head coach in 2017 at Chattanooga, which he won 10 games in his first season. In 2022, he led the Mocs to the NCAA tournament, drawing the attention of South Carolina, which hired him to replace Frank Martin.
To find the blueprint for building a champion in South Carolina, Paris only had to walk down the hall to women's basketball coach Dawn Staley's office. South Carolina men's basketball aims to rebuild and secure a place among the sport's best. In women's basketball, Staley, who took over an unremarkable program in 2008 and turned it into a perennial contender, winning national championships in 2017 and 2022, has done that and more. During No. 1 South Carolina's win over UConn earlier this month, a sold-out crowd, which included Paris, danced to a DJ's playlist as the team added another victory to its unblemished record.
Forward. #fightingcocks🐔🏀 // #Forever for you pic.twitter.com/cm6aE35fC9
– Gamecock Men's Basketball (@GamecockMBB) February 19, 2024
Paris called Staley an inspiration who made him feel like he belonged when he brought him on stage during his team's 2022 national title parade, just days after he was hired.
“Believe [Paris] “He's a great coach, a great X's and O's coach,” Staley said. “I think he's a great cultural coach. He's got the right guys representing him. The sky's the limit for this program. He just needed a chance.”
Paris said the key to the team's turnaround has been the culture within the program. Yes, the word “culture” is a cliché among coaches, but it's real to him. After a recent practice, the players sat on the bench and laughed together instead of going home. That happy vibe existed before the season even started. A preseason trip to the Bahamas improved team chemistry and helped strengthen the idea that this group could exceed expectations. And the good vibes have not been limited only to trips and activities related to basketball.
“We spent a lot of time together,” said Minnesota transfer Ta'Lon Cooper, a South Carolina native who averages 9.7 points per game and makes 44% of his shots from 3-point range. “We go to the girls' games. We just vibe with each other. I mean, I tried to take a couple of them skating. They don't like skating. They tried. I'll give them that. But we'll play video games together. They're just great guys, man.” .
Before his team's matchup against Vanderbilt earlier this month, Paris addressed his players in the locker room and made a demand. “Help however you can,” he told his team. “Anything they ask you to do. That's our strength.”
Paris, who keeps the two chairs he used during the Wisconsin Final Four in 2014 and 2015 in his Columbia office, preaches two things: the value of unity and determination. With this last quality, this group from South Carolina took their ranking in the league's preseason poll as an insult and decided to embarrass their critics.
“Why not us?” Cooper said. “A lot of us came here to build this program. A lot of us are from here. We just want to build this program so that from now on, this is what South Carolina men's basketball is all about.”
After a first-half lull, South Carolina outscored Vanderbilt 47-28 in the second half of that aforementioned victory. To date, it was the peak of the season.
Paris tried to shake hands with as many people as he could after his local radio show following Vanderbilt's victory. There were fans of all ages who wanted selfies. But a boy in the front row, leaning on the yellow safety rope that ran along the edge of the court, conveyed the optimism of a fan base that has witnessed the program's rapid growth.
“Coach Paris!” the boy shouted as the 49-year-old man turned toward him. “You've changed South Carolina men's basketball!”
But Paris resists credit.
“I didn't score any points all season, guys,” he said. “They're going to try to tell me I did something here. My players are out there doing it. Let's not forget that.”
