Lamont Paris on contract extension: 'This is where I'm supposed to be'

On Thursday, ESPN reported South Carolina will extend Lamont Paris through the 2029-30 season, paying him an average of more than $4 million annually. Evidently, Paris had no hesitation to sign the dotted line.

“This is where I’m supposed to be,” Paris said after South Carolina’s win over Arkansas in the SEC Tournament on Thursday. “I had a great conversation with our athletics director, Ray Tanner, and we’re really happy with where the program is.

“People talk about a lot of other opportunities that are out there or might be out there, but this is where I’m supposed to be. This is the group. I love where I am. I love this group. And so, we made it official, pending the board approval. We’ll see how that goes. Fingers crossed.”

Paris shouldn’t face too much pushback. On Monday, the second-year head coach earned the SEC Coach of the Year Award. It was well-deserved.

The Gamecocks went 11-21 during Paris’ first season at the helm, which included a 4-14 mark in conference play. This year, the squad improved to 25-6 overall record and finished tied for second place in the SEC with a 13-5 league mark.

The nine game improvement in conference record was the biggest jump for any team at the Power Six conference level this season, edging out LSU. Paris isn’t done yet. On Wednesday, the 49-year-old head coach detailed his team’s postseason aspirations.

“We want to win the SEC Tournament, there’s a lot that goes with that,” Lamont Paris said Wednesday on the Paul Finebaum Show. “But, I think it’s a good precursor to the NCAA Tournament just in terms of there’s nothing guaranteed other than the game we play tomorrow at 2:30.

“You must play well, you must compete well and you must also make plays in order to advance. And if you do enough of those things and you earn another 40 minutes, then you do it all again.”

Paris arrived at South Carolina after spending five seasons in charge at UT-Chattanooga. While coaching there he had an 87-72 overall record, including a 65-29 mark in his final three seasons.

In 2021-22 he led the Mocs to their first Southern Conference title and first NCAA Tournament berth since 2016. Chattanooga finished with a 27-8 record.

As a result, Paris was named one of 20 finalists for the Hugh Durham Award, given annually to the top Division I mid-major coach in college basketball.

Lamont Paris had previous stints as an assistant at Wisconsin, Akron, IUP, DePauw and Wooster.