Lamont Paris, who has been part of nine NCAA Division I Tournaments and 17 20-win seasons as a college head and assistant coach, was named the University of South Carolina’s 33rd head coach in 2022. Paris, 47, is the first African American head coach in the history of the Gamecock men’s basketball program.

Through his second season leading the Gamecocks, Paris has led the Gamecocks to one of the best starts in program history, including two top ten wins at home against Kentucky (#6) and on the road against Tennessee (#5) in Knoxville.

In his first season at the helm, Paris inherited a roster that returned just 14.9 percent of the team’s scoring and 18.4 percent of the minutes played from the season prior. Paris became the first Gamecocks Head Coach since Dave Odom in 2001 to defeat Clemson in their opening season. Paris joined Eddie Fogler (1997) and Darrin Horn (2009) as the only Gamecock head coaches all-time to win at Kentucky when they defeated the Wildcats in January 2023. Paris made in-roads recruiting with local product Gregory ‘GG’ Jackson reclassifying and enrolling early. A consensus five-star prospect, Jackson was the highest rated signee in program history and only one of two five star freshmen to enroll at South Carolina in the modern recruiting era, which began in the early 2000’s. Jackson became the first NBA draft pick for the program since All-American Sindarius Thornwell in 2017.

Prior to being named the Gamecocks head coach, Paris was the head coach at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where he led the Mocks to an 87-72 overall record (.547), including a 65-29 mark the last three seasons. In 2021-22, Paris led the Mocs to their first Southern Conference title and NCAA berth since 2016. Paris was named the Southern Conference Coach of the Year for his efforts. Paris was named one of the 20 finalists for the Hugh Durham Award, given by CollegeInsider.com to the top Division I mid-major coach in college basketball. Throughout his tenure, the Mocs’ NCAA NET ranking improved each of his seasons at Chattanooga.

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 exhibits a strong moral character off the court. He was also one of the 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.

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 with the Wisconsin Badgers.

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

A native of Findlay, Ohio, Paris’s 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 junior and senior seasons.

“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.”

Sam Dekker
Former Wisconsin Forward & 1st Round NBA Draft Pick

“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.”

Bo Ryan
Retired Wisconsin Head Coach