Lamont Paris weighs in on injury limitations for Chico Carter

South Carolina fell once again on Saturday, as Lamont Paris watched as his team lost their seventh straight game and dropped their ninth out of their last ten.

This time it was a two-point loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks. Afterwards, Paris spoke regarding an important South Carolina player in Chico Carter, whose absence due to injury has been more than felt over recent weeks.

“I don’t — I’m not Chico, so it’s hard for me to say how he feels,” started Paris. “So when they tell me he can go — here’s one thing I know I’m not good at, if a guy’s in, then I have an expectation of what in means. I’m not really good at adjusting. If you’re in, let’s go. Things have to get done. Otherwise you can’t be in.

“I just didn’t think — I thought there were some things that whether it was because of the injury — probably, that probably still slowed him down. I just thought there were some things where he had trouble changing direction quickly. Turning a corner when he had an advantage. There just were some things that I didn’t think he looked — there weren’t pop to them. So we just went a different way, because I thought we were a little fresher.”

Alas, perhaps a healthy Chico Carter can help turn the tides and get some victories later this season, as the Gamecocks current have a very disappointing 8-15 record. Time will tell, but South Carolina needs a jolt.

Lamont Paris reflects on frustrations from year one

Moreover, it’s been a frustrating season for Paris and the Gamecocks, but the coach took some time earlier this week to reflect on the team and his efforts to get them engaged on a regular basis. You can read those comments in full right here: 

“Yeah it’s hard. It’s very difficult. I think it’s probably more difficult now than ever, just because, you know, it’s a it’s an emotional group. These these kids that are of college age and any of you that are around them on a consistent basis or or are the parent of them or uncle or aunt or whatever it is, you know that. And so, it’s difficult. It’s always been difficult when you go through a stretch, but I think it’s even more difficult now. 

“So I think our spirits have been pretty good overall relative to that. Because you have to move forward, you have to get ready for the next game, you have to try to improve. And the only way you’re going to do it is if you have a positive attitude. If you’re going to go into something and accept the work and and try to get better, otherwise you’re just the same guy. And you hope you play better and you hope you just play better in one game. But it’s a challenge. 

“We’re constantly talking about it, constantly trying to put things into perspective in a way that it makes sense to them and talk about the next move and the next step in the horizon and what the future is. The future is short. It’s tomorrow, it’s in a couple days, it’s the next game. But we’re constantly trying to focus on that in a way that we can inspire guys to continue to work hard and come out and have a lot of energy and a lot of juice when they play the basketball game. Every day is a new day. Like every hole’s a new hole. 

“And the other golf analogy — so, if you’re hanging your head because you had a triple bogey or three bogeys in a row, the chances of your birdie in the next are relied on that, if you’re not in the right head space. But if you take all the factors into account, you make a good, solid decision. You plan on hitting a good shot, you concentrate the way that you’re capable of — your chances go up of of having a par or a birdie on that next hole. Don’t get too many birdies, but yeah, that’s the mentality that I think you have to have in order to to persevere through some pretty trying times.”

On3’s Alex Weber contributed to this article.