Lamont Paris shares key to South Carolina's defensive success

The South Carolina basketball team is off to a hot start to the 2023-24 season, having already won 15 total games just a few weeks into conference play.

The main reason? The team’s defense has been on point throughout the year.

The Gamecocks currently rank No. 33 in the nation in scoring defense, allowing opponents to average just 64.6 points per game so far this season. Head coach Lamont Paris explained why his team has had so much success.

“We’re trying really hard. We’re trying really hard,” Paris said. “I mean really, really hard in our one-on-one situations. We’re trying to follow defensive rules as hard, as best we can. I think our commitment to those things has been as good as I’ve seen in a long time.”

It’s no coincidence, then, that when the defense slips, so does South Carolina. The Gamecocks have given up 70 or more points in only four games this season. Three of them have been losses.

And two of those losses have come in the last couple weeks, first to Alabama and then to Georgia.

Finding a way to stay locked in defensively even against higher-caliber opponents will be a key toward South Carolina retaining its current momentum and making a push for a quality NCAA Tournament seed.

Paris once again broke down exactly where the Gamecocks have gotten it right defensively.

“I think we’re communicating,” Paris said. “When we should switch we switch, when we shouldn’t switch we don’t switch. And we’re trying really hard. I’d say the biggest thing, our effort to do the things that I’ve asked these guys to do defensively could not be higher.”

If South Carolina is looking to make a statement, it’ll get a chance in the next few weeks. Three of the next five opponents are currently ranked in the AP Top 25: No. 8 Kentucky, No. 6 Tennessee and No. 22 Ole Miss.

The Kentucky and Ole Miss games will be at home, where South Carolina is currently 9-1 on the season. The Tennessee game will be on the road, where the Gamecocks are just 3-2.

First up is the Kentucky matchup, which will be played on Tuesday night at 7 ET. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.