South Carolina Basketball: Grading Lamont Paris’s first two offseasons
As the summer heat continues to bake Columbia, Lamont Paris’s South Carolina basketball team’s roster moves are cooling down.
Time is closing on the second offseason at South Carolina for Paris, and the team has undergone almost a complete transformation from the Frank Martin era. Only two players remain from Martin’s last team, guard Jacobi Wright and center Josh Gray. All others have graduated or transferred.
Paris’s first season had some low lows (losses to Colorado State, East Carolina, and George Washington) to go with some high highs (winning at Rupp Arena, Chico Carter Jr.’s game-winner against Clemson.)
Today’s exercise, however, disregards the regular season and just judges the two (almost) completed offseasons for Paris and his staff through 3 facets: recruiting, the transfer portal, and public image. First off, recruiting.
High School Recruiting for South Carolina Basketball under Lamont Paris
Recruiting Grade: B+
Coach Paris made arguably the biggest splash in South Carolina basketball recruiting history when he got Ridge View star GG Jackson to decommit from UNC, reclassify to the class of 2022, and commit to the Gamecocks.
Jackson had already established a rapport with Frank Martin before his firing, so the reestablishment of a connection between the two parties marked a huge get for Paris and the program. While the on-court production of Jackson was inconsistent at times, there’s no conceivable way that his addition to the team can be considered a negative for the program.
In addition to Jackson, Paris was able to keep Frank Martin-era commits Daniel Hankins-Sanford and Zachary Davis, both of which visibly developed throughout their freshmen seasons, although Hankins-Sanford has since transferred to UMass, Martin’s new gig.
For the 2023 class, Paris signed (according to 247Sports) the 103rd-ranked player in the country, Collin Murray-Boyles out of Wasatch Academy, Utah. Murray-Boyles previously played at A.C. Flora in Columbia, and fellow 2023 signee Arden Conyers from Blythewood also has ties to the Palmetto State.
Early on in his tenure, Paris seems to be placing a premium on establishing local connections, something that seemed to slip out of Frank Martin’s hands sometimes (Zion Williamson, Ja Morant, Aaron Nesmith, Nic Claxton, Bryce McGowens, etc.) For a state that is quietly stockpiling quality basketball talents, this strategy could pay dividends for the program.
On the flip side, Paris is also in Europe. More specifically, Paris is in Finland, signing Finnish combo guard Morris Ugusuk for the 2023 class. From what film is available, Ugusuk’s main strength is solid perimeter defense, not only an uncommon calling card in this day but also a personal favorite of mine from a talent-watching perspective.
With the international game growing at a rapid pace, (look no further than the last 5 NBA MVPs) Paris understands the need to expand recruiting outside of U.S. borders in addition to strengthening his South Carolina connections.
Coach Martin was able to develop international talent during his tenure (AJ Lawson, Chris Silva, Felipe Haase, Maik Kotsar, Duane Notice, Michael Carrera, Laimonas Chatkevicius, Mindaugas Kacinas, etc.), and Ugusuk is a good sign that Paris may follow the same path. The lone commit from 2024 is also from Finland, forward Okku Federiko, brother of Pitt Panther Federiko Federiko.
With the exception of GG Jackson, the quality of recruiting from the classes of 2022-24 hasn’t strayed too far from the Frank Martin era, but that’s excusable still as Paris rebuilds the program from the ground up. Jackson’s tenure as a Gamecock moves Paris from the C+-B- territory up to a B+.
Transfer Portal Recruiting for South Carolina Basketball under Lamont Paris
Transfer Portal Grade: B
The quickest way to turn around a roster in this age is the transfer portal. Lamont Paris and his staff know this and have signed 8 players from the portal over 2 years. One tidbit of information to note, 6 of those 8 players hailed from either the Big Ten or SoCon, pointing towards Paris and his staff working his connections from years at Wisconsin and Chattanooga.
It’s important to remember that the program was, to put it lightly, not in a great place after Martin’s firing, so the first offseason was primarily a task of finding enough players to field a playable SEC team. Paris and staff found Hayden Brown from The Citadel, Meechie Johnson from Ohio State, Ebrima Dibba from Coastal Carolina, and Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk from Illinois.
It was a mixed bag, as Brown and Johnson immediately nestled into starting roles, but Dibba was lost for the season with a major injury, a torn Achilles tendon. Bosmans-Verdonk had no problem staying healthy but struggled on the court, leading to Josh Gray’s late-season emergence in the frontcourt.
According to 247Sports, Johnson was the highest-rated transfer in the 2022 class for South Carolina basketball, but 3 of 4 transfers from this offseason’s class have the same or better transfer rating than Johnson, per 247.
This is positive momentum, at least according to whoever does the ratings over at 247Sports. I do believe this class is more talented than last year’s, but that’s more of a vote of confidence toward Paris than an indictment against last year’s transfer class.
Mack received offers from Top 25 programs such as Alabama and Arkansas, so this was one of the first big recruiting wins in the offseason for Paris. Stute is a great shooter from the perimeter who scored in double figures the last time he played the Gamecocks. Paris dipped into Charleston again to grab another Bulldog, this time big man Stephen Clark who is a deceptively good passer and great interior defender. Ta’lon Cooper is a pass-first point guard who should allow Johnson to play a more natural shooting guard position.
Overall, Paris did a better job this offseason balancing the roster and grabbing SEC-caliber talent. It’ll still take a couple of years to build back a tournament team, but that’s life when a program loses 6 of its 6 leading scorers.
The Public Image of South Carolina Basketball under Lamont Paris
Public Image Grade: A
Much like head football coach Shane Beamer, Coach Paris has embraced Columbia since being named the leader of one of the city’s main sports teams. Paris is active in the community and is building a reputation as a stand-up character in the area, which is something that I believe is underappreciated in the sports world.
Without Paris’s intangibles and demeanor, I don’t think South Carolina basketball gets Jackson. One could categorize that as part of recruiting, but I think it could be classified as its own separate entity within the public image.
Looking around the SEC at situations arising in the last couple of years within Alabama, LSU, and Ole Miss’s basketball programs, it’s occasionally overlooked when a program stays completely out of trouble or simply plays the right way.
Obviously, having talented players on the court at all times is a huge indicator of team success, but team culture is extremely important as well, and Lamont Paris has shown every indication of being a capable leader of student-athletes.