Bruce Pearl Talks Job Lamont Paris Has Done At South Carolina
Sometimes, the best kind of compliment that you can receive is one that comes from outside of your circle. For Lamont Paris, the head of South Carolina's men's basketball program, he's probably gotten used to being lauded by those within the Gamecock program, which includes former players, recruits, and fans who follow the team closely.
On Tuesday, Paris' was commended on his tremendous coaching job by a fellow SEC head coach, the same one he'll play a proverbial chess game against later tonight in the Auburn Tigers' Bruce Pearl.
"I'll tell the coaches at South Carolina when I see them tomorrow. It took me 3 years to do what's taking you guys, maybe 18 months or a couple years. So this is what we work for as coaches to try to get our programs to be relevant, competitive in our league," Bruce explained at his Tuesday press conference. "And Coach Paris, in my mind, it would be hard to think of anybody else that would be the coach of the year in our league in the sense that he was picked last, and they're currently first or tied for first with Alabama. And so he and his staff have done a tremendous job of rebuilding and putting together a really, really competitive roster, old roster, tough roster, physical [team]. They play the right way."
Lamont Paris directing his team in the middle of play versus the Vanderbilt Commodores (10th Feb., 2024)
Jeff Blake | USA Today Network
While some computer models are still lower on than the Gamecocks, those who use the old-fashioned 'eyeball test' know that the team is comprised of tremendous players. While Pearl had great things to say about most of South Carolina's starters, their veteran guards stick out the most to him.
"It's going to be a real challenge because they've only lost three games you know and there's that's obviously a reason for that they have great inside-out play. They've got great guard play, physical guard play. I think those four guards that Florida has are probably as good as any four-guard combination in our league. But South Carolina is going to be one of those teams that you'd say, 'hey, between [Ta'Lon] Cooper and Meechie Johnson, [it's] just [a] pretty good backcourt.'"
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