Micah Shrewsberry on Lamont Paris: 'He's got them playing unselfish basketball'
Micah Shrewsberry knows what it’s like to come into a bad situation and have to be the guy to turn things around. He’s done it not once but twice now.
In the mid 2000’s, he turned IU South Bend from a 3-28 squad to 17-15 in three years. Then, over the last two years at Penn State, he helped the Nittany Lions advance to the Big Ten Tournament title game as a 10-seed in 2022. As a result, Penn State made the NCAA Tournament, where it would lose in the Round of 32.
So when Shrewsberry sees South Carolina head coach Lamont Paris, he reminds him a little bit of himself.
“I’ve known Lamont Paris for a long time. I know how good of a person he is. I know how good of a coach he is,” Shrewsberry said after Notre Dame lost to South Carolina on Tuesday. “And he’s got these guys playing really hard. He’s got them playing unselfish basketball. They’re finding the right guys, they’re finding guys who are hot. They’ve got a couple guys that will make you play.”
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Paris is in his second year with the Gamecocks. His team went 11-21 last year, winning four games in conference play, one of which came on the road against Kentucky.
Now in year two, South Carolina is 6-0, the best start to a season since 2016-17.
“He’s not in an easy situation. He’s had to kind of remake this thing,” Shrewsberry said. “He’s a positive guy. And I think you can see that kind of going to his team. When his team is playing that way, his team is believing in that same way in what they’re doing.”
Admittedly, Shrewsberry doesn’t know much about South Carolina’s history. But he does know the difference between a blue blood program and a team on the rise. He knows Paris’ job at South Carolina is much harder than a powerhouse basketball school’s coach.
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“You’re not Kentucky, right? So I’m not going to get the same caliber of player,” Shrewsberry said. “I can’t play the same way as Kentucky, or it’s not gonna fare well for us. So I need to play a different style. He’s been in programs and systems that have played a different way. Maybe how we play is a little bit different, which gives them an edge in the league, right?
“That’s what we tried to do at Penn State, we couldn’t be the same as everybody else. We didn’t have a seven foot center. So we had to play a different style.”
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Shrewsberry believe it will be to Paris’ benefit to keep playing a different style of basketball. It’s been good so far and he thinks it can continue to flourish.
“It’s going to make it hard on people to prepare for them with BJ Mack picking and popping threes,” he said. “They have so many guys that can put the ball on the floor and attack you in space because you’re so worried about that.”
