Lamont Paris and South Carolina basketball embrace disrespect
Most college basketball analysts would say that Lamont Paris and his South Carolina basketball team came out of nowhere to have a good season last year. The Gamecocks, however, would not say that. Instead, they viewed the lack of preseason expectations as disrespectful.
All throughout the team’s run to the NCAA Tournament, Coach Paris and his players referenced it. “If they like us, they like us; if they don’t, they’ll pay the price” became a rallying cry, and players like Myles Stute and Ta’Lon Cooper opening mocked the media for their reluctance to rank the team until they knocked off top-10 teams Kentucky and Tennessee in a week’s time.
Even before the season began, Paris called out the media for picking his team to finish last in the SEC. Since then, he has admitted that he used the slight as a motivational tool for his team.
Not much has changed.
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The media learned a little from their mistake last year and voted South Carolina 11th in the preseason SEC poll. They also included one Gamecock on the preseason All-SEC squad as sophomore forward Collin Murray-Boyles made the third team. Those votes might sound like an improvement from the perception that surrounded the program this time last year, but to the South Carolina basketball team, it sounds like disrespect.
Coach Paris wouldn’t have it any other way.
Speaking on SEC Network on Tuesday at the SEC Tip-Off, he said that his team relishes the chance to prove their doubters wrong: “I think for them, there’s nothing that could be better than for us to be ranked in a way that they perceive as disrespectful.”
For the Gamecocks, every year is a challenge, and Paris told the SEC Network crew that his team has meet it.
“But you know, we have to prove ourselves. So why should we be ranked any different?…We rely on the fact that we get to play the games to show that maybe the picks just aren’t that accurate. But we’re looking forward to getting a chance to try to prove that.”
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Paris also addressed his own status as one often overlooked. He said on Tuesday that he is used to it. Paris comes from a small school that not many know (College of Wooster). He isn’t from and hasn’t coached much in the South. That’s fine with him, says Paris, because overcoming disrespect breeds self-confidence. “I am who I am. I’m very comfortable with who I am.”
The Gamecock headman brought with him to the SEC Tip-Off what likely will be his starting frontcourt. Both Collin Murray-Boyles and Nick Pringle spoke very diplomatically about their 11th-place prognostication. However, the duo expressed a greater confidence in their team and excitement in representing their home state.
Pringle called the Gamecocks’ 2024-2025 ceiling “very high.” He also believes that his new partnership with Murray-Boyles will play a big role in the team reaching that ceiling. Quoting the book of Proverbs, he said, “Iron sharpens iron.”
Murray-Boyles didn’t take the bait about his All-SEC third team selection. Instead, he shared where his focus is heading into his second year in garnet and black. “I’m just trying to stay focused…I’m not worried about my accolades. I’m just worried about winning.”
Paris, Murray-Boyles, Pringle, and the rest of the South Carolina basketball team will start their regular season in less than three weeks. On November 4th, the Gamecocks will host the North Florida Ospreys at Colonial Life Arena.
