Lamont Paris recently issued a challenge to his players. Jamarii Thomas answered the call
After flying from Boston late at night and into the early morning hours last Tuesday, South Carolina spent the next day watching film from its dominant 73-51 win over Boston College. But for as well as the Gamecocks played, head coach Lamont Paris demanded more of his players.
Despite the team knocking down double-digit three-pointers for the second straight game, Paris wanted to see if any individual could do more.
“After we watched the film, I challenged our guys. I said, ‘Has anybody made five threes in one game?'” Paris said on ‘Carolina Calls’ with Derek Scott on the Gamecocks Sports Network. “I said that we’ve gotta make five threes in one game with such these high-quality shots we’re getting.”
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Up to that point, no one on the team had accomplished such a feat. Some had come close in previous games. Morris Ugusuk hit four three-pointers in two different games this season, while Jacobi Wright and Jamarii Thomas each had an outing with four made threes.
And just a few days later, Thomas wasted no time responding to Paris’ challenge. In South Carolina’s next game against East Carolina, the senior guard went 5-for-8 from behind the arc in a 75-68 win last Saturday.
Thomas had an overall solid performance outside of his stellar three-point shooting. He finished a game-high 22 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field with seven assists. Over his last three games, he was shooting a mere 27 percent from the field. But Paris saw growth in his game last time out that led him to believe he’ll be just fine.
“(He’s) getting much more comfortable and aggressive. That’s good,” Paris said. “He’s going to be a huge part of what we do offensively. We’ve been saying that since he got here. So now he is being more aggressive.”
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In his first season with the Gamecocks, Thomas has had to fill the void left by Ta’Lon Cooper and Meechie Johnson at guard. He was brought in from the transfer portal to be that next impact player at the position. His offense may have taken some time to come along, but his defense is something Paris can always count on.
“Thankfully for us, he values defense. That’s just who he is,” he said. “Sometimes guys don’t and sometimes you can talk to the ones that don’t value defense and they’re trying hard on defense. Sometimes you can’t do that, also.”
So far this season, Thomas is averaging 1.1 steals and 2.6 defensive rebounds per game. While he hasn’t recorded a steal in his last four games, he had two or more in four of his first five games of the year.
“When you have a guy who values defense, you don’t have to worry about that aspect,” Paris said. “The only question is, can you get them to be elite? And that’s on the table for him is to be an elite defender.”
