'Everybody wants that': Paris wants South Carolina to face adversity, be challenged
South Carolina had to do it the hard way. To get to the level of success it had last year, it had to go through the gauntlet that was an 18-game SEC slate.
There was no alternate route or shortcut. The Gamecocks had to face it head on. And they did — for the most part.
The feel-good story could’ve fizzled out after a 40-point loss to Auburn followed by a last-second loss to a mediocre LSU team. But South Carolina responded well and weathered the storm, finishing tied for the second-best record in the SEC.
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Now as the Gamecocks enter a new season, it’s going to be the same challenge as last year, only a bit tougher in head coach Lamont Paris’ opinion.
“This league continues to get better every year. I think back to (Tennessee head coach) Rick Barnes made a statement that last year’s season was the best he had ever seen in the SEC, and he can’t imagine it being any better,” Paris said Tuesday at SEC Media Days.
“Fast-forward a year later, it might be better. It’s full of tough-minded and tough — physically tough teams but tough-minded teams, which I think is just as important or more important. That’s kind of who we’ve been. That’s who I am.”
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Even after winning 26 games, there’s still those who still don’t believe South Carolina is on the same level as other teams in the conference. The Gamecocks were picked to finish 11th out of 16 teams in this year’s SEC preseason media poll, released on Monday.
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It’s going to be used as bulletin board material for Paris’ team to feed off from, just like they did last year when they were picked to finish dead-last in the preseason. At the same time, the conference only gets tougher, which will make it even more difficult to repeat what they did a season ago.
“There are challenges. We want to be in front of challenges and then overcome obstacles and hurdles and make achievements in the face of challenges,” Paris said. “I don’t think there’s near the gratification of making achievements without adversity, without challenge. That’s what we want. I think everybody wants that.”
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This season, South Carolina will play 16 games against teams ranked inside KenPom’s top 50. 13 of those matchups will come in SEC play. KenPom projects the Gamecocks will finish 16-14 overall and 7-11 in the conference.
All of this are just numbers and predictions, though. It doesn’t mean anything unless South Carolina makes it that way. What worked so well for Paris’ group last year was their toughness and their ability to face adversity. That’s what he expects to see from his new team in 2024-25.
“We had a high level of toughness last year,” Paris said. “Again, it’s a process to try to get to that, but we have the makings of what could be another good, tough team. If you’re not tough in this conference, it’s going to be hard to win any games, to be honest with you.”
