Paris Named 33rd Head Men's Basketball Coach at University of South Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Lamont Paris, who has been a part of nine NCAA Division I Tournaments and 17 twenty-win seasons as a college head and assistant coach, has been named the University of South Carolina’s 33rd head coach, Director of Athletics Ray Tanner announced Thursday.

Paris, 47, becomes the first African-American head coach in the history of the Gamecock men’s basketball program.

Paris comes to Carolina after five seasons as the head coach at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, coaching the Mocs to an 87-72 overall record (.547), including a 65-29 mark the last three seasons.

This season, he led the Mocs to their first Southern Conference title and NCAA berth since 2016. Chattanooga finished the season with a 27-8 mark. He is one of 20 finalists for the Hugh Durham Award, given by CollegeInsider.com to the top Division I mid-major coach in college basketball.

The Mocs’ NCAA NET ranking improved in each of his seasons at Chattanooga, finishing with a 63 ranking this season.

In his 17 seasons as a collegiate assistant coach, teams associated with Paris were 497-217 (.696) with five conference titles and 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, reaching two Final Fours.

“Lamont Paris is the right choice to lead our men’s basketball program,” said Tanner. “When we began this search, I said we wanted to hire someone with a winning coaching history, who has the energy, passion and commitment to excellence in all areas of the student-athlete experience. Coach Paris checks all of those boxes.

“Lamont’s success on the court speaks for itself,” continued Tanner. “He has recruited and developed talent at the highest level, helping Wisconsin reach the Final Four on two occasions, and has taken his experiences under some of the nation’s top coaches to build his own winning program at Chattanooga. Off the court, he is first-class person who will embrace our community and the Gamecock Family. We believe he is one of the bright young coaches in the profession and we are thrilled to have him lead our men’s basketball program.”

The Mocs won the 2021-22 Southern Conference regular season title with a 14-4 record, and as the #1 seed in the SoCon Tournament, won the championship game with a thrilling 64-63 overtime win. Chattanooga’s Malachi Smith was the Tournament Most Outstanding Player with teammate David Jean-Baptiste joining him on the first team.

In a vote of the league’s coaches, Paris was named the SoCon Coach of the Year and Smith was the regular-season SoCon Player of the Year. Jean-Baptiste was also named to the Second Team all-conference squad.

“I am excited to be named the head coach at South Carolina,” said Paris. “The opportunity to build on what this program has achieved recently is exciting. While I am the head coach, I wouldn’t be where I am today without the many head and assistant coaches and student-athletes that I have worked with. I want Gamecock fans to know that we will have a program that you will be proud of and one that will compete for championships.”

Following the 2020-21 season, Paris was one of 25 coaches nominated for the Collegeinsider.com Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award, awarded annually to the NCAA Division I men’s basketball coach who also exhibits a strong moral character off the court. He was also one of 25 coaches nominated for the Ben Jobe Award, presented annually by Collegeinsider.com to the nation’s most outstanding minority men’s basketball coach in Division I.

Paris came to Chattanooga after seven seasons as an assistant coach at Wisconsin (2010-17). The Badgers averaged 27 wins per year during his tenure. Wisconsin won a school-record 36 games in 2014-15 finishing as the national runner-up a year after reaching the Final Four in 2014 and also reached four NCAA Sweet 16s.

Paris developed a reputation as a recruiter and developer of talent as an assistant coach. At Wisconsin, serving under head coaches Bo Ryan and Greg Gard, he was credited with keying efforts with All-American and current Phoenix Sun Frank Kaminsky, 2015 first-round NBA Draft selection Sam Dekker and Nigel Hayes, who is playing with FC Barcelona in the Liga ACB EuroLeague.

Prior to joining the Wisconsin staff, he was an assistant coach at Akron for five seasons (2005-10) under head coach Keith Drambrot. Paris was on the Zips staff in 2005-06 season when the squad achieved its first 20-win season since 1974-75, going 23-10. Akron won 20-or-more games in each of Paris’ years on the staff. The Zips were 2009 Mid-American Conference Champions and earned NIT bids in 2006 and 2008 and went to the CBI in 2010.

Paris also served as an assistant coach at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (2001-04), DePauw (1998-2000) and his alma mater, College of Wooster (1997-98).

Paris is a member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and the Black Coaches Association. He was one of the five men’s assistant coaches selected to participate in the BCA’s “Achieving Coaching Excellence” program in 2007.

Additionally, in 2007, he was inducted into the Kaleidescope Magazine’s Forty-Forty Club, a list consisting of Cleveland, Ohio’s top 40 African-Americans age 40 and under who have made a difference in the community.

A native of Findlay, Ohio, Paris earned a bachelor’s degree in business economics from Wooster in 1996 and a master’s degree in recreation and sports management from Indiana State in 2000. Paris played four seasons for Wooster and was named the team’s MVP and captain his senior season.

He was the team MVP and captain as a junior and senior at Wooster earning All-North Coast Athletic Conference honors both years. He helped the Scots to three trips to the NCAA Division III Tournament along with a couple of NCAC Championships.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Under Paris, Chattanooga’s RPI/NET improved each season from 2018-2022. No SEC program achieved this during the same timeframe.
• Chattanooga’s KenPom.com offensive efficiency ranking of 69 in 2022 would be higher than any South Carolina team since 2006 (14).
• Chattanooga’s KenPom.com single-season improvement of 87 spots from 2021 (156) to this season (69) would be second best among SEC teams in any year since 2018, trailing only Texas A&M’s 89 spot improvement (137 in 2021 to 48 in 2022).
• Paris was a part of the Wisconsin coaching staff that made seven straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Included in that stretch was a National Championship Game appearance (2015), Final Four (2014) and four Sweet 16s (2011-12, 2016-17).
• During his 22 seasons as a head or assistant coach, Paris has been a part of 17 teams that have won 20-or-more games in a season (7x Wisconsin, 5x Akron, 2x Chattanooga, 2x IUP, 1x Wooster).

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING ABOUT LAMONT PARIS

“Coach Paris is everything you could want as a coach. There is no box that he doesn’t check. From film study, to practices, to gametime, his love for the game and attention to detail is second to none. But above all that, what separates Coach Paris, is the person he is. The relationships he built with his players is truly unique. He communicates with respect, will actively listen to every person in the room, and knows the best ways to help his players reach their full potential. When he says he’s a call or text away, he truly means that; to this day he’s never backed from that promise. I hope every young basketball player has a chance to be coached by someone like Coach Paris. South Carolina’s got a good one.”

—Sam Dekker, Wisconsin Forward & 3-Time All-Big Ten Selection (2012-15)

“Lamont was an integral part of us turning the program around at Akron. He was – and is – terrific with the players, is a tremendous recruiter and has an outstanding mind for the game. He has paid his dues and is more than ready to seize the opportunity before him at South Carolina.”

—Keith Dambrot, Duquesne Head Coach

“The University of South Carolina has made a terrific hire with Lamont Paris. He’s a phenomenal teacher of the game, excellent evaluator and recruiter of talent, and most importantly, a first-class person. Lamont has been instrumental to the success of every program he’s been a part of in his career and was an outstanding coach to work with and have on my first staff here at Wisconsin. The coaching in the SEC just got even better with Lamont’s arrival in Columbia and I sense exciting times are on the horizon for his Gamecock basketball program.”

—Greg Gard, Wisconsin Head Coach

“I am thrilled that Lamont has this outstanding opportunity at South Carolina. I know he will do an outstanding job. All of us at Wooster are very proud of Lamont.”

—Steve Moore, Retired Wooster Head Coach

“We are so proud of what Lamont has accomplished thus far in his career. We are excited to see the impact he will have on South Carolina’s basketball program. Lamont is a winner on and off the court.”

—Doug Cline, Current Wooster Head Coach & Lamont’s College Teammate

When I think about Lamont Paris, I think about the reasons I first hired him at Wisconsin. He stands for all the good things in college athletics. He’s got an old school bedrock with creative and new school energy and ability. He paid his own way to play at a D3 school. He knew he was doing it for love of the game and he’s translated that mindset to his coaching style as well. His purpose as a coach is to help young men understand not just here and now, but also what comes after basketball. He is able to relate with all types of people. His work ethic in drills, film work, scouting reports is so thorough that I never had to critique his work. I could just turn him loose. His ears and eyes were always open and will continue to be open. South Carolina is getting a good one.

—Bo Ryan, Retired Wisconsin Head Coach

“We congratulate Lamont on this move. He built our program into a consistent winner again after starting from scratch following the graduation of the last great Mocs teams. We worked side-by-side over that time, and I developed a great deal of respect for how he handled his program on and off the court. He will be missed in Chattanooga, but we look forward to following the championship years ahead at South Carolina.”

—Vice Chancellor & Director of Athletics Mark Wharton, Chattanooga Mocs

“Lamont has done it the right way and rebuilt Chattanooga. High-character, great relationships with players and can really coach. I can’t wait to see what he can do in Columbia.”

—Jeff Goodman, Stadium Basketball Insider

“Lamont Paris is a program builder. Trained and tutored by Bo Ryan when he was at Wisconsin, Lamont is fully aware of what it takes to be successful in any environment. Those types of instincts and skills should blend seamlessly at South Carolina.”

—Jon Rothstein, CBS Sports

“First and foremost you are getting a great human being and a terrific basketball coach in Lamont Paris at South Carolina. Kids are just going to absolutely love playing for him, and that’s one of the most important things. He is going to recruit people that you will be very proud to have on your campus.”

—Andy North, ESPN Golf Analyst and two-time U.S. Open Champion

“I’m really excited for Lamont. He is a great coach and person – who will bring both tremendous experience, and everyday, positive energy to his new role at South Carolina. He is a hard worker, he is really bright and he genuinely cares about others. I can’t wait to watch his teams play.”

—Brad Stevens, Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations

LAMONT PARIS COACHING RECORD