Gamecock Digest

OPINION: Season Series Vs. Tennessee To Serve As A True Barometer Of The Progress Of Lamont Paris' Program

South Carolina's men's basketball home-and-home series Vs. the Tennessee Volunteers will tell us all how far they've come under Lamont Paris.

Andrew Lyon

OPINION: Season Series Vs. Tennessee To Serve As A True Barometer Of The Progress Of Lamont Paris' Program
OPINION: Season Series Vs. Tennessee To Serve As A True Barometer Of The Progress Of Lamont Paris' Program /

Later tonight, Lamont Paris and the South Carolina Gamecocks will face off against the second-best team (via conference record) in the SEC, the No. 5 Tennessee Volunteers. The Gamecocks are coming off of three straight wins, including one over the No. 6 ranked Kentucky Wildcats just one week ago today. Having gotten off to a 17-3 start, Carolina is on the verge of potentially being ranked for the first time in almost seven years and has seen their head coach's name thrown around as the likely winner of the SEC Coach of the Year Award if the season were to end today.

However, as great as the Gamecocks have been playing over the past three months, the regular season home-and-home series with Tennessee that begins tonight will be the series that gives us a true indication of how far this program has come in year two under Paris' watch. Why is that the case? Well, all you have to do is look back at what happened last year.

In the 2022-23 basketball season, South Carolina simply couldn't keep up with the Volunteers in both the games they played against them, losing each game to Rick Barnes' squad by at least 40 points. The beatdowns resembled a high school varsity team taking on their program's all-freshmen team. Tennessee was simply better in every single facet of the game, and that wasn't up for debate.

This time around, I think both sides will be stunned if the matchup is that lopsided, as outside of their loss to Alabama, the Gamecocks have proven to be more than a tough out for every opponent they play, whether at home or on the road. So why is this home-and-home series the barometer for the progress measured this season?

The thing that's unique about basketball is that you can 'look good' in a loss and not be penalized; heck, you could be rewarded for your efforts. Lamont Paris wouldn't dare say this to the media, but if South Carolina were highly competitive this time around against the Volunteers, even in a loss, it would be the final piece of validation needed to prove to all the naysayers that this team is lightyears ahead of where it was last year.

Suffer a blowout loss, and questions, fair or unfair, will resurface. Lose a close game, and you'll still get your flowers. Anything beyond that will merely be gravy.

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Andrew Lyon
ANDREW LYON

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