'I don't see it': Lamont Paris comments on being picked to finish last in SEC
Lamont Paris scanned the room filled with the dozens of reporters sitting in front of him. He knew the question was coming.
In fact, it was the first one of the day. A media member asked him about the SEC preseason men’s basketball rankings coming out with South Carolina in last. And Paris had a lot to say.
“There were 14 picks last year. Does anybody know how many of those were right?” Paris said at SEC Basketball Media Day. “Zero. Not one team last year was picked in this spot and then finished in that same spot.”
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Last year, the SEC rankings also featured the Gamecocks at the bottom. And they won four conference games and ended up finishing 12th.
Instead of letting the pick get to his head, Paris embraces it.
“One thing I can thank the media for is that they picked us last,” Paris said. “Second to last is nothing, what does that mean? I can’t even use that as billboard material. They picked us second to last. So last it is.”
Though, it didn’t make much sense to Paris. He thought his team played competitively last year, despite being not having the same talent as other teams in the league.
“We won at Kentucky, we had the No. 2 team in the country in an overtime game. (Alabama) had to score at the end of the game to force overtime. We played another NCAA Tournament team to the last possession. We had three overtime losses, didn’t finish last and then we’re picked to finish last,” he said.
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But at the end of the day, predictions only hold so much weight. Paris will have an older, more experienced group that shapes up to be better. South Carolina added four transfers in the offseason, including BJ Mack from Wofford, Stephen Clark from The Citadel, Ta’Lon Cooper from Minnesota and Myles Stute from Vanderbilt.
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At the same time, he won’t let anyone forget how the media views his team. He plans to use the pick to his advantage as a way to get the players even more motivated for the season.
“Hopefully to my team, it’ll be something, a source of inspiration and disrespect, honestly, to them to come out and play,” Paris said.
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What Paris also pointed out is that he doesn’t aspire to not be last. His goals are much bigger than that.
“What a low goal that would be…I don’t see it,” he said. “But I mean, it’s a cool pick. I guess it’s convenient. You’re going to look, maybe you like this coach better, this coach is smarter, this coach has more experience, this player that we picked up, you don’t think he’s very good, I don’t know.
“We’re significantly more skilled, significantly more experienced, and we did not finish last last year.”
South Carolina will have its chance to start proving people wrong when it hosts Wofford on Wednesday, Nov. 1. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.
