Lamont Paris named SEC Coach of the Year, three Gamecocks receive SEC honors
The culmination of a season’s hard work is paying off in a big way.
South Carolina head coach Lamont Paris was named the SEC Coach of the Year on Monday afternoon.
Picked to finish last in the SEC before the season, Paris led a remarkable turnaround that saw his Gamecocks finish tied for second in the conference at the end of the regular season.
South Carolina heads into the postseason with a 25-6 (13-5 SEC) record. The 25 wins were the most in the regular season in program history. 13 of those wins came in the SEC play, which is the second most all time in program history. Seven of those SEC wins came on the road, which is tied with the 1996-97 season for the most all time in program history.
After winning just 11 total games last year, the 14-win improvement this year is the greatest single season turnaround in program history.
In his two years at South Carolina, Paris is now 36-27 (.571) overall.
In addition to Paris being honored, three players on the team received recognition from the league.
Ta’Lon Cooper and Meechie Johnson were both named to the All-SEC Second Team. Meanwhile, Collin Murray-Boyles was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team.
Cooper, who is in his first year at South Carolina after transferring twice, averaged 9.7 points per game with 4.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists. He’s shot 47.2 percent from the field and 45.1 percent from three-point range.
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Johnson led the team in scoring with 14.4 points per game. He shot 40.3 percent from the field and 31.8 percent from three-point range.
Murray-Boyles bursted onto the scene at the tail end of non-conference play after dealing with mono. But it didn’t take long for him to make his presence felt. He averaged 10.3 points with 5.7 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 0.9 blocks per game. Rebounds, steals and blocks were all team-highs.
South Carolina’s season continues into the SEC Tournament, starting on Thursday. The Gamecocks will play the winner of Arkansas vs. Vanderbilt in the 12/13 seeded matchup. Tip-off is at 3:30 p.m. on SEC Network.
