Buckley wants to leave mark, help others at South Carolina
When South Carolina assistant Tim Buckley was out on the road recruiting at various events, he seemed to always gravitate towards Lamont Paris.
The two got to know each other over talks courtside. Then, after coaching against each other in the Big 10 as assistants, they’ll get to spend time together on the Gamecocks’ staff in Paris’s first year as head coach.
“Now that I’m with him every day I’m more impressed than I thought I would be. He’s one of those guys when you’re around him makes you feel good about yourself, what you’re doing and why you’re doing it,” Buckley said. “That’s what’s made him so successful. He’s been successful in every spot he’s been.”
Buckley is the only assistant on staff who didn’t come with Paris from Chattanooga.
He spent over a decade in his career in the Big 10. That was most notably as Tom Crean’s associate head coach at Indiana. The Hoosiers won two Big 10 regular-season titles during their tenure.
After a pit stop at UNLV, Buckley is with Paris at South Carolina and hoping to lend whatever expertise he can to a staff transitioning to the high-major level.
Outside of Paris, Buckley is the only person on staff with head coaching experience and thinks he can help ease some of the transition in year one for Paris and the other staff members.
“Not knowing necessarily where your blind spots will be. You’re getting to know the terrain and the area and not only at your university but in recruiting and different areas,” he said. “That stuff is important to get to know. You don’t always know it right away. If you have a good feel for people you can pick things up.”
He’s been at programs that have typically won consistently. He was part of three Sweet 16 teams at Indiana and was part of a few coaching transitions, most recently at UNLV.
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Buckley understands what good college basketball teams look like and thinks this staff can help bring that to South Carolina.
“Wherever he’s been, they’ve won. They’ve sustained winning. It wasn’t like a one-time deal. Even though this is year 37 for me, I still want to learn and still want to grow,” Buckley said. “I know I’ll be able to do it with this staff because they’ve done it differently than I have in the past. That’s refreshing and exciting.”
Buckley also wants to be the bridge for the two other assistants—Tanner Bronson and Eddie Shannon—to get head coaching jobs.
Then, he just wants to leave South Carolina’s program in a better place.
“I’m not trying to see what I get out of it or what it does for me. It’s about the University of South Carolina having success and Lamont Paris has success. Hopefully, I can help Tanner and Eddie become head coaches from my experiences,” Buckley said.
“They’re the next group of coaches who are going to be doing this, taking the reigns of college basketball. That’s exciting for me.”
