Lamont Paris reveals recruiting pitch after first year at South Carolina

Year one didn’t go as planned for Lamont Paris and the South Carolina Gamecocks. After losing 21 games and being bounced from the SEC Tournament in the first round, Paris isn’t changing his recruiting pitch heading into the offseason.

“When you talk about the foundation that’s laid, these are some of the high points that can certainly occur when you have a group of guys that are relatively inexperienced,” Paris said after losing to Ole Miss. “Our numbers were not what we wanted them to be.

“I think as you’re talking to recruits, that’s part of it. ‘Vision’ is always a word that goes out there, too. You want kids that want to be a part of something special. Doing it in a different way, that’s why I can’t thank Hayden Brown enough, he was the first guy that said yes to come here. He wanted to be on the ground floor, and he did. It took longer for us to get to this point. I’d like to play 30 more games right now. That’s what I’d really like to do. I’m sure he would, too.”

His pitch to kids now is the same he gave to Brown: look at the fanbase, the student section — the energy and excitement — that’s what Paris wants his recruits to envision. Being a part of something different and building his program the right way is something he’s excited about for his players

“It’s going to be fun,” Paris said.

He said the 2022-23 roster is the group that started the new standard for South Carolina basketball. That showed in practice, how they carry themselves outside the court, who his players are as students, human beings, how they communicate with his staff, and everything in between even though they struggled in between whistles.

If Paris continues to sell his recruits on being on “the ground floor,” success will come, he said.. He’s asking his players and staff to trust in the process and is optimistic based on the growth he saw in his team from when he took over the program until the Gamecocks’ season ended Wednesday.