Lamont Paris Dishes On Potentially Being Ranked, Preseason Detractors

South Carolina's men's basketball coach Lamont Paris talked about his team potentially being ranked and what it says about them.

Against the Missouri Tigers on Saturday afternoon, the South Carolina Gamecocks notched their fifth SEC win of the season, maintaining their 4th place position in the conference standings and surpassing their SEC win total (four) from this past season. Throw in a dominant win over No. 6 Kentucky from this past Tuesday, and it appears likely that Lamont Paris' team will be ranked in the Top 25 poll when it's released Monday.

Lamont, like most coaches, tries to keep his team's focus on the things they can control, but when asked about the chance of the team being ranked next week, he seemed to ask the question, "What else do my guys have to do?" without actually saying it.

"They work really hard. They can't control the schedule. They don't have any say-so in who we play. They go out there, and whoever's out there, they play, and they've done that, and they've worked hard, and they've won," Paris lamented. "Let's think about it. One of the officials goes out in the middle of the floor with the ball, and he throws it up. They've done that 20 times this year, and 17 times, our guys have come out on top. So I think that's to be commended and to be rewarded."

BJ Mack celebrating with South Carolina fans after the Gamecocks' upset win over Kentucky (23rd Jan., 2024) / Jeff Blake | USA Today Network

If anyone thought that Lamont had forgotten what was said about his team last fall, just take my word for it: he hasn't.

"We're trying to grow, and I think one of [marks you'd like to check off] is getting into the Top 25 [which], for these guys, I think is a significant achievement, particularly when the world has been told to discount this team. We're a society of consumers. I'm one too. I can't wait for somebody to tell me what show to binge on Netflix," Lamont said. "We were waiting for someone to tell us if South Carolina's good or not, and in November, they told the world that we're not good, and so people form their opinion on that, right? People that were never in one of our practices, they form their opinion on influencers. We don't want to go over the top with it, but I think [potentially being ranked] is a significant achievement for this group, and I'm very very very happy that they'll be able to have a chance to attach a little number. It doesn't change the game, but it'll change a lot in their minds, maybe." 

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