Lamont Paris looks back on the year after loss to Oregon

South Carolina didn’t go on the run that it was hoping to in the NCAA Tournament as the sixth-seeded Gamecocks lost to No. 11 seed Oregon in the first round. Still, there’s no denying that it was a special season for Lamont Paris and his team.

South Carolina was picked to finish in last place in the SEC, before tying for second in the league with a 13-5 record. Paris was asked to look back on this season after the loss to the Ducks.

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It was hard for Lamont Paris to appreciate everything South Carolina accomplished this season right after it ended, but at some point he will reflect on the special year.

“I think one day here in the next couple days to a week or whatever, all that stuff will start to set in on what we actually did. When you’re in the midst of it, it’s hard to do that,” Paris said. “Someone’s going to tell you, ‘Hey, you did this, you had a winning season, you’re locked into a winning season’ or ‘you’re locked into a winning SEC season’ or ‘you got double figure SEC wins first time in however long.’

“They keep coming. They keep coming and you’re just so locked into trying to do what you need to do to try to give the guys this opportunity right here [in the NCAA Tournament], which was our ultimate goal.”

South Carolina finished the season with a 26-8 record, including a 13-5 mark in SEC play. The Gamecocks also had plenty of big wins, including knocking off Kentucky, Tennessee and Florida.

“It’ll set in here in a couple of days probably what we — what they really did. I didn’t do a whole bunch, but they did a lot of things this year,” Paris said. “So, yeah, that’ll set in here over the next couple of days, but it’s hard to think about that as much right now when you’re really just worried more about your guys and how they’re feeling.”

After beating South Carolina, No. 11 seed Oregon nearly knocked off No. 3 seed Creighton in the round of 32. However, the Bluejays survived in double overtime. Creighton will now face Tennessee in the Sweet 16. The winner of that game will face the winner of Gonzaga and Purdue for a spot in the Final Four.