Gamecock Digest

South Carolina Picked To Finish Last In The SEC

A select group of those who cover SEC basketball don't seem to think South Carolina will make noise this season, and according to the head man, he wouldn't have it any other way.

Andrew Lyon

South Carolina Picked To Finish Last In The SEC
South Carolina Picked To Finish Last In The SEC /

Whenever a program undergoes a heavy turnover in one offseason, there isn't much slack given due to a lack of historical accomplishments. It becomes easy for fans and media members alike to follow the narrative that a team in those circumstances won't thrive the following season. 

South Carolina seems to be the latest team falling victim to that narrative. During the SEC's media day session for the conference's men's basketball teams earlier this week, the Gamecocks were projected to finish dead last in the conference this upcoming season.

This projection can sometimes elicit profound responses from those close to the program, especially the head coach. When asked at SEC media days what his thoughts were on the prediction, Paris admitted he understood the reasoning behind it but let it be known that this isn't unfamiliar territory for him.

"It didn't surprise me. I would say that, probably. You look [at the roster], we have the least experience probably overall in terms of who's competed at this level, and even at different levels in terms of minutes played, points scored, I can see where that stems from. So it didn't shock me. I've been picked last just in general, oftentimes. I thrive on that; I'm motivated by that. There aren't a lot of reasons why I'm standing at this podium right now. It wasn't cause I played at a blue blood [program], it wasn't because I had whoever the current czar of basketball is calling to get me a job, that's not how it happened. So I use that to motivate myself certainly."

Paris also made it clear that this projection would be used to motivate his team and said while it doesn't automatically equate to success, it will open a door of opportunity for them to catch people by surprise.

"I will impart that on our guys to get where we'll take it personal. We'll have a chip on our shoulders. It doesn't mean we're going to win all 32 regular season games because we have a chip on our shoulder, but where you are picked and where you finish are oftentimes two different things, and you know I hope to put a product out there that people are scratching their heads and saying 'Now how in the world did that work... How is this happening?' so I aspire to have people scratching their heads at some point on how we did what we did, but certainly, that'll be a motivating factor for us."

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