The South Carolina men's basketball team is reloading in 2026 after a disappointing season in Columbia. Following a 13-19 season last year, Gamecocks head coach Lamont Paris has added a new assistant to his staff.
On Friday, South Carolina officially named Bob Donewald Jr. to the Gamecocks' coaching staff. Donewald has been in coaching for several decades, with his most recent stop being at Ole Miss under head coach Chris Beard.
30+ years of experience at the professional, collegiate and international ranks... 🤙
— South Carolina Men's Basketball (@GamecockMBB) April 10, 2026
Let's get to work, coach! 💼#Gamecocks🐔🏀 // #ForeverToThee pic.twitter.com/dlRHRTbF51
Donewald was with Ole Miss from 2023 to this past season, previously serving as an assistant at Texas from 2021-23 and Texas Tech from 2020-21. Per South Carolina's official release, Donewald has coached on three NCAA Tournament teams and a trio of 20-win season teams.
He played college basketball at Western Michigan, and started his coaching career at Morehead State from 1994-96. He then spent 1996-2001 coaching overseas for three British Basketball League teams, including the Leicester Riders, Derby Storm and Greater London Leopards.
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He coached on various NBA staffs from 2001-2004, including with the Hornets and Cavaliers, and coached one season for the UAB Blazers from 2007-08. He then spent 2009-11 coaching for the Shanghai Sharks, owned by Yao Ming, part of the Chinese Basketball Association. He then spent one season as head coach for the Chinese National Basketball Team, leading the team to a 14th-place finish in the FIBA World Championship in 2010, as well as an Asian Games championship and FIBA Asia title in 2010 and 2011, respectively.
He was the head coach for the Chinese Basketball Association's Division II Xinjiang Flying Tigers team in 2011 before returning to the NBA to coach the Minnesota Timberwolves' G-League team, the Iowa Energy, from 2014-2016. Prior to arriving at Texas Tech in 2020, he coached two more seasons for the Chinese Basketball Association's Jilin Northeast Tigers before a one-year stint coaching professionally in Russia.
He is the son of Bob Donewald, who was a head coach at Illinois State and Western Michigan from 1978-2000, finishing with a 359-276 overall coaching record.
“I’m really excited about the addition of Coach Donewald to our staff,” Gamecock head coach Lamont Paris said in an official statement. “As the landscape of college basketball continues to evolve, I believe Bob’s experiences in the NBA as well as his tremendous connections in the international basketball world will pay huge dividends for our program. Combine that with his college basketball pedigree, and his familiarity with the SEC specifically, and you have an extremely well-rounded coach who is ready to hit the ground running. Welcome home, Bob!”
Paris also landed a 4-star transfer from George Mason in point guard Koby Mincy on Friday so the vibes surrounding South Carolina basketball are pretty high.