Mar 18, 2022; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Chattanooga Mocs head coach Lamont Paris on the sidelines in the first half against the Illinois Fighting Illini during the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
NCAABy Matt Clapp on

The South Carolina Gamecocks have picked their new head basketball coach. According to ESPN’s Jeff Borzello and Pete Thamel on Monday night, Chattanooga’s Lamont Paris has agreed to a five-year deal to be the head coach at South Carolina.

South Carolina and Chattanooga coach Lamont Paris have finalized a five-year deal to make him the school’s next head coach, sources told ESPN on Monday.

The deal still requires the formality of board approval later this week.

Paris, 47, led Chattanooga to a 27-8 record this season (his fifth with the school). The Mocs won the SoCon regular-season and conference tournament titles, resulting in an NCAA Tournament autobid.

https://twitter.com/thecomeback/status/1501017452561387520

Chattanooga was given a 13-seed and almost shocked 4-seed Illinois in the first round, but came up just short.

Paris will take over for Frank Martin, who was fired last week after 10 seasons with the Gamecocks. Martin’s tenure with South Carolina featured just one NCAA Tournament appearance, but that at least featured a trip to the Final Four. South Carolina went 18-13 (9-9 in SEC play) this season and is currently slots in at No. 100 on Ken Pomeroy’s rankings (the No. 34 defense, but the No. 203 offense).

While he’s spent the last five years in the SoCon, Paris has experience at the major-conference level. He was an assistant coach at Wisconsin from 2010-17 and was a key recruiter there.

The Paris-to-Gamecocks move continues the SEC’s trend of hiring mid-major coaches over the last week. LSU hired Murray State’s Matt McMahon, Florida hired San Francisco’s Todd Golden, Missouri hired Cleveland State’s Dennis Gates (unofficial, but expected), and Mississippi State hired New Mexico State’s Chris Jans. Four of the five coaches made the NCAA Tournament this season (and Cleveland State made it last season).

Here’s a sampling of the Twitter reaction to South Carolina hiring Paris:

https://twitter.com/nlorensensports/status/1506050299571621890

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About Matt Clapp

Matt is an editor at The Comeback. He attended Colorado State University, wishes he was Saved by the Bell's Zack Morris, and idolizes Larry David. And loves pizza and dogs because obviously.

He can be followed on Twitter at @Matt2Clapp (also @TheBlogfines for Cubs/MLB tweets and @DaBearNecess for Bears/NFL tweets), and can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.

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