Lamont Paris Discusses How Team Is Handling First Place, Trying To Peak At Right Time

South Carolina's men's basketball team is currently tied for first place in the SEC regular season standings. How are they approaching this behind closed doors?

As of Tuesday, February 14th, 2024, South Carolina's men's basketball program is tied for first place in the SEC's regular season standings alongside the Alabama Crimson Tide. It's been quite the evolution for the program from a perception standpoint, as they began the season as the preseason projected last-place team in the conference, then fought for weeks to break into the Top 25 polls.

Now, with just seven regular season games remaining, Lamont Paris' team has positioned themselves where they could win the program's first regular season title since the 1996-97 season. With all of the buzz now surrounding the program, there are two routes that a coach can take in dealing with the newfound hype: act like it doesn't exist or fully embrace the weight of newfound expectation.

While the Gamecocks second-year head man has taken the former approach, he admitted to the media on Monday that at this point, the team can no longer keep it out of their private conversations.

"In my mind, that last game [against Vanderbilt] was kind of the domino we needed to fall before we could start having the audacity to look at what the standings are and where we are in the standings. And so I think we are [at] that point - we'll talk about it a little bit," Lamont stated.

Lamont Paris talking to Carolina guard Meechie Johnson during a break in their game against Vanderbilt (10th Feb., 2024) / Jeff Blake | USA Today Network

As the former Wisconsin assistant coach has indicated in the past, he's extremely process-oriented. So while he doesn't want to quell the idea of his team setting new goals, ultimately, at this point in the season, he wants them to remain focused on their preparation and how it could lead to long-term success.

"I think we're still really committed to trying to improve our product. I think there's still some room for growth in our product. And so, at some point, that won't be the case. We'll be doing it all. We'll be playing the best that we can possibly play, and then you just try to do that for as long as you can, and you can't do that for a whole season. I don't think you can do it for two months, but you know if you can start finding your way into that mode here in the next week or two, I think you can do that for the rest of the season to write it off. So just worry about getting better soon."

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