'I don't see it': Lamont Paris comments on being picked to finish last in SEC
At SEC Basketball Media Day, head coach Lamont Paris had plenty to say about where his team was picked to finish in the SEC this year.
Lamont Paris comments on being picked last in the SEC
- Thread starter Chris Clark
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Think that's where we belong in all men's sports right now until proven otherwise.'I don't see it': Lamont Paris comments on being picked to finish last in SEC
At SEC Basketball Media Day, head coach Lamont Paris had plenty to say about where his team was picked to finish in the SEC this year.www.on3.com
False. Nobody was jubilant. He finished 2 spots ahead of where he was predicted, so some of use reasonable folk just pointed out that he exceeded expectations, and that's a good thing for a guy trying to rebuild a program in disarray.
No. I had heated discussions with one poster on here about it. Yes, I was using a little hyperbole by saying fans were "jubilant" but he was adamant that the team overachieved based on finishing 12th instead of 13th or 14th. He argued it showed Lamont's coaching ability to have the team overperform.
Oh, haha, I forgot. You do like to argue, so that makes sense.
Well, we won't delve into that argument again.
Finishing 12th is bad regardless of where you were predicted to finish.
What is to be said about being predicted to finish even lower this year than last year? Does that mean the program is even more disarray now?
What is to be said about being predicted to finish even lower this year than last year? Does that mean the program is even more disarray now?
I think we are right where we belong. We are low on talent and without any game changers coming in.....looks like last to me.
GG was our most talented player, but not really our most impactful. He had a lot to learn as a 17 year old going into the season and it showed. When we started to win a few games down the stretch, GG was on the bench a lot. We have a small backcourt in Meechie and Jacobi, but they really started to develop some chemistry. The key to our season again will be whether we can get any production out of our bigs. I think Paris had some sneaky good pickups in recruiting and the portal. Watch out for Murray-Boyles. He is not GG in upside, but a more mature player coming into the program. I believe he can be versatile 3/4 for us. BJ Mack was very productive at Wofford. Can that production translate to the SEC? If so, that changes the whole dynamic of our season. I like Stute, the Vanderbilt transfer, as well. Played a lot of basketball in this conference and can really shoot the ball. Not making any great predictions of post-season appearances or anything, but I think some of you may be pleasantly surprised when this team hits the floor.
I really like L.P. Enjoy listening to him speak. He'll turn it around but will take a few more years.
Nobody disagrees. I'm just saying in year one, having to start from scratch with his roster, he exceeded expectations. And that's a positive sign. We lost a 5* player to the NBA, so we're back to being picked last. He's going to need a few years to get a foundation.
Agree 100%. I think just the impression that we lost an elite player contributes to the preseason projections. But it's not a lot of production to replace. I really like MB as well.
GG was responsible for 23% of our overall scoring. Analyze his time here however you want, that's a loss.
I would say we lost a 5* player with an asterisk. Most kids that re-classify underperform in that first year. You won't see what Jackson really is until he is in the pros for 2-3 years. Jackson was productive, but inefficient. Took way to many 3s and didn't seem to pick up on the big picture of the offense. Just looking to see how can I score. That was to be expected as he was a very young player. People's expectations were far too grand for Jackson coming in. All they saw was 5* and thought we were getting the second coming of Zion Williamson at Duke. Different circumstances, different player.
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Combine that with the losses of Brown and Carter and that's 57% of our scoring from last year.
When you're working with as little as we are, that's a lot to overcome.
It was a very inefficient 23% though. Only shot 38% from the field. He fancied himself as a 3 point shooter, but only shot 32% from 3 point range. Maybe a more mature GG scales a couple shots back. Understands the flow of the offense and we would have had a better season. Don't just look at counting stats. Look deeper into how those stats came to be.
I get it. But if you see my post #9 above, we lost 57% of our scoring from last year's team. We were last in the SEC in scoring as it is (327th nationally).
Not when you replace them with better players. I think Paris did a far better job in the portal this time around than he did in the first year. He came in late and had to take whatever was available in that first year. He got some guys out of the portal this time that have played a lot of basketball against high level competition. Like I said, I am not putting a win figure on it, but we will be competitive.
It remains to be see if they were replaced with better players or not. Proof will be in the pudding. Obviously the media doesn't think so. I hope it's the case.
Just bc they're higher scorers doesn't mean they're all that good. There will be another high scorer. There will be a new 57% this year. I think we upgraded Brown and maybe carter.
That's a pretty safe prediction, haha. I agree. This year's team will have a high scorer.
Just saying, top scorer on a terrible scoring team usually isn't a big loss.
I hope your right. Still, after years of "we will be better ", I'll bet we aren't much.
Bottom 4 is where we will finish.
I think we upgraded over both. Ta'lon Cooper was one of the top assist producers (2nd) in the Big Ten last year. Mature and has played a lot basketball. Brown was tough and played hard, but was very undersized for his position at 6-5. I believe the Clark kid can give us just as much as Brown did. I, also, think some are sleeping on how well Meechie and Jacobi played down the stretch when Meechie exhibited just a little bit of discretion with his shot selection. College Athletics, especially Basketball, is not what it used to be. It's not about grooming a team for 2-3 years. With the One-and-Done and Transfer Portal, it's about putting together the best team you can season by season.
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Unfortunately, our fanbase is so beaten down that I don't think many are paying attention especially with basketball. Our fanbase is beaten down with football too, but we tend to pay more attention. Go check out some of the player bios of the new players. Even go check out some of their tape. It's readily available with YouTube and all other social media. I think I am being real modest in saying that we will be competitive because it has been so bad since the Final Four year. I like the improvement I saw at the end of last season and it appears Paris was very sound in his roster construction for the upcoming season. I am cautiously optimistic.
I'm with you. I got crushed last year for pointing out we were much more competitive and playing better overall basketball in Feb than we were in Dec...but it was the truth. They got better as the year went on. There are positive signs that he's a good coach that will do well here, but he still has to go do it.
He also took 24.96% of our shots.. he was very average.
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Spot on. Who was jubilant finishing 12th? Not me nor you. Did he do better than expected? Absolutely. And that's especially true in light of the fact that numerous players either transferred to UMASS with Martin or graduated after Martin was fired. As I recall, Paris had to practically bring in an entire new roster. Very few quality prospects were available by the time Paris came to USC.
Not only that BUT take a look at the job he did in his previous Head Coaching job. His team's conference and out-of-conference record improved EVERY year, if memory serves. That is another positive sign that Paris is a good coach.
