UGA MBB
Frierson Gadogs.com: Quick Chat: RJ Melendez
“What is something you could eat every day and never get tired of it?
Melendez: Chipotle. Everybody on the team could tell you that I go almost every day.
Frierson: Do you get the same thing every time?
Melendez: Every time. I get a bowl, with extra rice, black beans, steak, double steak, queso, corn, cheese, sour cream, vinaigrette, and guac. It's so big, it doesn't really fit in the Chipotle bowl. It's something I could eat every day.”
2024 Recruiting
Asa Newell quotes
“I feel like they need me out there,” I still feel Coach Mike White is doing a fantastic job so there’s nothing really to say. I just know when I get there I can help a lot and finish plays for them.”
“My family went up there last weekend (Athens) but I haven’t visited recently, They’ve come to practices though and tell me how they’re ready and excited to get me on campus.”
“I noticed that they play hard when they’re down and they fight. I also know the player development is going to be there. I see guys doing things now that they weren’t doing at the beginning of the season”
“Before I get there I just want to be more physical, aggressive, and dominant, I feel like I’m starting to do that now. I also want to work on my handle, be an elite knock down shooter, and guard every position. I feel like I have more pep in my step ever since the McDonald’s All American situation. It put a chip on my shoulder.”
2025 Recruiting
Next Opponent: Auburn
Ken Pom
5 Auburn
81 UGA
Evan
6 Auburn
98 UGA
521 Hill
542 JAR
604 Melendez
615 DeLoach
779 Demary, Jr
787 Cain
994 Thomasson
1115 Tchewa
7 Broome
18 Baker-Mazara
49 Williams (Injured)
97 Donaldson
109 Cardwell
117 Holloway
187 KD Johnson
391 C.Johnson
459 Jones
1241 Moore
NCAA Team Stats UGA AU
PPG 109 - 24
FG% 235 - 86
FT% 114 - 39
3P% 139 - 216
REB 195 - 57
A 287 - 10
TO 203 - 66
A/TO 255 - 11
BS 179 - 5
Gadogs.com: Bulldogs Host No. 14 Auburn On Saturday At Stegeman
Jaylin Williams won't play at Georgia; timeline for his return still inconclusive
Bruce Pearl
"Going on the road to Stegeman Coliseum," Pearl said. "One of the things that we talked about as far as the league is concerned, the league being as good as it's been maybe ever, would have been that we may get nine teams in the NCAA Tournament but really there are probably 11 teams right now including Georgia that are absolutely within range."
Guard play in the SEC
"I think all of our guards, obviously with a team, again, like Georgia or like Kentucky, or a team like Florida or a team like Alabama," Pearl said. "Some of the best teams in our league have got really good guard play from three or four guards. Not just one or two, but three or four guards. So the question is who can guard who?"
Bye Week
"It was great. I think we needed it with Jaylin's injury, obviously. It helped us get organized, but I think more than anything, we've had since the beginning of the year, it's been two games every week and seven days a week," Pearl said. "It's been that grind
"Tuesday I went out and recruited the state tournament and it was just good to be away a little bit. I thought when I saw the guys yesterday, they were glad to see me, they missed me a little bit and I was glad to see them. But if we had come back Monday and had a game Wednesday, I don't know that it would've felt the same way."
Alabama.com: Why Bruce Pearl is re-shuffling Auburn’s rotation of guards
“For so many weeks at the beginning of this season, Bruce Pearl repetitively fielded questions about the quality of his point guard play, how it didn’t matter whether it was Aden Holloway or Tre Donaldson on the court, how Auburn was just getting efficient and elite leadership from its primary ball-handler. They were at the forefront of an Auburn attack that has a top 10 assist-to-turnover ratio in the country.
And in a Bruce Pearl offense, that’s essential.
Yet then Pearl sat down after Auburn’s 70-59 loss to Kentucky last weekend and it was clear exactly where a key problem had been.
The guard play just wasn’t good enough.
So what happened?
Against Kentucky, it starts with foul trouble. Donaldson had four fouls, K.D. Johnson had three. Pearl said that greatly limited his guard rotation and led to other guards like Denver Jones playing 28 minutes, six more than his season average.
Donaldson’s 11 minutes were a season-low. Neither he nor Holloway had an assist. That’s not a formula Auburn can win with.
Because of foul trouble, Auburn didn’t get the time on the floor or the production from its guards that Pearl wanted against Kentucky, but the rotational changes have stemmed from beyond just the Kentucky loss and beyond foul trouble.
That starts with Jones. He has been added in to make a two-man point guard rotation between Holloway and Donaldson into a three-man group.
“I know as of late, Coach BP told me that he wanted to get a few reps at point, just because of defense, really,” Jones said after the loss to Kentucky. “Tre in foul trouble did kinda move me into the point guard position a little bit longer than expected.”
Jones may be Auburn’s best pure defensive guard. Johnson may be the defender causing the most havoc. Certainly, Jones brings better defense at point guard than Donaldson or Holloway, but he’s entering that rotation for his offense, too.
“Denver is a very versatile guard and I think the issue there was simply K.D. Johnson and Denver both playing well and needing more than just the 40 minutes at the two spot,” Pearl said.
Holloway has struggled mightily since the start of SEC play. He has continued to be reliable for Auburn at point guard with a good assist rate and low turnover numbers, but his scoring has majorly fallen off the point where Pearl recently flipped his starting lineup to Donaldson over Holloway over the last seven games.
It’s been a month since Holloway scored double-digit points in a game. In SEC play, he’s averaging 5.5 points per game and shooting 25% from the field. Over Auburn’s last three games, Holloway is 2-13 from the field and has scored six total points. Pearl has emphasized his confidence in the freshman, but has clearly reached the point where he’s had to make rotational changes at the position.
Nor has Donaldson given consistent scoring production since becoming Auburn’s starting point guard. Since Jan. 27, Donaldson has made two 3-pointers. But he’s been far more effective and efficient inside the arc shooting 49% from the field in SEC play.
And for the most part, Auburn has not been impacted even without its point guards at their best. That’s because Auburn’s forwards have played so well. Auburn’s three leading scorers this year are all forwards.
But with the injury to forward Jaylin Williams (knee), there’s now more onus on the guards to step up. Before Jones made three 3-pointers in Auburn’s loss to Kentucky, Williams was the second-leading 3-point shooter on this team. Holloway is still the leader, though doing so with nearly double the attempts of any other Auburn player.
Losing 13 points per game in Williams during whatever undefined period he may be out for is a huge hole in this team.
Forward Chaney Johnson will likely step into Williams’ spot, but is unlikely to exactly replace the scoring production of his teammate. That slack must be picked up elsewhere. It will likely have to be a guard, especially with how well and how consistently Williams was willing to shoot. Centers Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell will pick up what’s lost on the interior.
Because of Williams’ injury, Auburn will see several rotational changes. Because of how versatile Jones plays, his role will expand to play multiple positions. He’ll be one of several Auburn players expected to be more interchangeable parts because of Williams’ injury.
Late February isn’t the time of year to experiment. Auburn may lack a choice.”
https://www.al.com/auburnbasketball...-re-shuffling-auburns-rotation-of-guards.html
Rivals.com: Chaney ready to ‘give it all that I’ve got’
“With Jaylin Williams sidelined with an injury, it will fall on Chaney Johnson to take a bigger role at Auburn’s four position.
Johnson, who transferred to AU from UAH in the offseason, is averaging just 3.8 points per game but has been lauded by his coaches and teammates as one of the team’s hardest workers.
“Just trying to be better for this team, not just because J-Will is hurt, but just being better, period,” said Johnson. “If I’m putting in the most work or working myself as hard as I can, after my career is over I won’t have any regrets. So why not just give it all that I’ve got.”
Johnson won’t inherit all of Williams’ minutes. Bruce Pearl plans to use a committee approach for the 14th-ranked Tigers game at Georgia, which could include both Johni Broome, the staring five, and Chris Moore, the starting three, playing some four.
“Dylan Cardwell will play some more. Chris Moore, maybe to move around a little bit; Lior Berman,” said Pearl.
Cardwell, who should get more minutes at the five, is excited for what Johnson can bring with more opportunity.
“At the end of the day, just trust your work and he’s put in the most work of anybody on the team,” said Cardwell. “He just has to have the confidence to be the best player on the team. He puts in the most work so just believe in it.”
Pearl said Williams, who injured his knee against Kentucky last Saturday, will travel with the team to Athens but won’t play. After that, the fifth-year senior will be game-to-game.
There was a lot of things talked about 10 days to two weeks, so on and so forth. I don’t think there was anything concrete in that,” said Pearl. “We’ll kinda go from there. Saturday will be one week from his injury. The following Saturday will be two weeks from his injury.”
SEC Basketball
Alabama
SI.com: Can Alabama Men’s Basketball’s Supercharged Offense Lead to a National Championship?
Kentucky
Clay Lexington Herald Leader: Time is running out for this Kentucky basketball team to get it figured out
https://www.kentucky.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/john-clay/article285769131.html
Mississippi State
Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State basketball gets commit from Eric Paymon Jr., the No. 1 in-state recruit
https://www.clarionledger.com/story...-top-in-state-recruit-2024-class/72686765007/
Missouri
KC Star: Takeaways from Mizzou basketball’s 13th straight SEC loss, this one to Tennessee
https://www.kansascity.com/sports/college/sec/university-of-missouri/article283680683.html
South Carolina
ESPN: Lamont Paris has turned South Carolina from an afterthought into a tournament team
“Paris didn't think that way about his team, either. He knew about all the moves he made in the offseason to add the right pieces and build a proper culture for this year's group. And now, everybody can see that those moves have changed the program's fortunes. The addition of Wofford transfer B.J. Mack (13.8 PPG) upgraded South Carolina's offensive capabilities in the paint. Paris also used the portal to get older -- South Carolina had one of the youngest Power 5 teams a year ago -- with veteran players who've helped this team go from a sub-200 ranking in defensive efficiency in 2022-23 to a top-60 spot this season. Those improvements helped South Carolina go from a 21-loss season just a year ago to a 21-win season today.
"You pick my team last?" Paris said about the SEC preseason poll. "Last is what you're going to say? Yeah? OK. Come on. Bring it. That mindset has transferred over to a lot of our players."
This isn't to say that everything this season has gone smoothly -- the team has lost its past two games, one of which was a 40-point blowout at Auburn on Valentine's Day.
But Paris feels most comfortable amid adversity.
As an 11-year-old in Findlay, Ohio, he told those around him that he'd be the first person in his family to attend college. Paris' parents always taught their children to hold their heads high, even if the odds were against them -- and sometimes they were. Paris said he remembers going through the checkout line at the local grocery store and paying with food stamps. But he never felt ashamed.
"You had to lift up the tray, pull out the orange money, and everybody's like, 'Ah, people with food stamps,'" Paris said. "That didn't affect us. It didn't make us feel like we were any worse."
After he graduated in 1996 from the College of Wooster, where he was a two-time captain of the men's basketball team, he decided to pursue a career in coaching -- first as an assistant at Wooster, and then at four other schools over the course of 20 years.
He made just $10,000 and slept on a mattress on the concrete floor of a basement while at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. But he kept working his way into better jobs. After a seven-year stint as an assistant at Wisconsin, he finally got his first head-coaching opportunity in 2017 at Chattanooga, which won 10 games in his first season. In 2022, he led the Mocs to the NCAA tournament, getting the attention of South Carolina, which hired him to replace Frank Martin.
To find the blueprint for building a champion at South Carolina, Paris only had to walk down the hall to women's basketball coach Dawn Staley's office. South Carolina men's basketball aims to rebuild and secure a spot among the sport's best. In women's basketball, Staley -- who took over an unremarkable program in 2008 and turned it into a perennial contender, winning the 2017 and 2022 national championships -- has done that and more. During No. 1 South Carolina's win over UConn earlier this month, a sellout crowd, which included Paris, danced to a DJ's playlist as the team added another victory to its unblemished record.
Paris called Staley an inspiration who made him feel like he belonged when she pulled him onstage during her team's 2022 national title parade only days after he had been hired.
"I think [Paris] is a great coach, a great X's and O's coach," Staley said. "I think he's a great culture coach. He's got the right guys representing him. The sky is the limit for this program. He just needed a chance."
Paris said the key to the team's turnaround has been the culture within the program. Yeah, the word "culture" is a cliché among coaches, but to him, it's real. After a recent practice, players sat on the bench and laughed together instead of going home. That lighthearted vibe existed even before the season started. A preseason trip to the Bahamas enhanced the team's chemistry and helped strengthen the idea that this group could exceed expectations. And the good vibes haven't just been limited to basketball-related trips and activities.
"We hang out with each other a lot," said Minnesota transfer Ta'Lon Cooper, a South Carolina native who is averaging 9.7 PPG and making 44% of his shots from 3-point range. "We go to the women's games. We just vibe with each other. I mean, I tried to take a couple of them roller-skating. They don't like to roller-skate. They tried. I'll give them that. But we'll play video games together. They're just great dudes, man."
Before his team's matchup against Vanderbilt earlier this month, Paris addressed his players in the locker room and made a demand. "Help as you can," he told his team. "Whatever you're called upon to do. That's what our strength is."
Paris, who keeps the two chairs he used on the sideline during Wisconsin's Final Four runs in 2014 and 2015 in his office in Columbia, preaches two things: the value of unity and determination. With the latter quality, this South Carolina group took its ranking in the league's preseason poll as an insult and decided to embarrass its critics.
"Why not us?" Cooper said. "A lot of us came here to build this program. A lot of us are from here. We just want to build this program to where, from here on out, this is what South Carolina men's basketball is about."
After a first-half lull, South Carolina outscored Vanderbilt 47-28 in the second half of that aforementioned victory. To date, it was the peak of the season.
Paris tried to shake as many hands as he could following his local radio show after the Vanderbilt victory. There were supporters of all ages who wanted selfies. But a boy in the front row, who leaned against the yellow security rope that lined the court, conveyed the optimism of a fan base that has witnessed the program's rapid growth.
"Coach Paris!" the boy yelled as the 49-year-old turned toward him. "You've changed South Carolina men's basketball!"
But Paris resists the credit.
"I didn't score a point all season, guys," he said. "They're going to try to tell me that I did something here. My players are out there doing it. Let's not forget that."
Tennessee
Knoxville News Sentinel: Why Tennessee basketball is built for March Madness – and why Vols have some concerns
https://www.knoxnews.com/story/spor...et-dalton-knecht-ncaa-tournament/72691842007/
Frierson Gadogs.com: Quick Chat: RJ Melendez
“What is something you could eat every day and never get tired of it?
Melendez: Chipotle. Everybody on the team could tell you that I go almost every day.
Frierson: Do you get the same thing every time?
Melendez: Every time. I get a bowl, with extra rice, black beans, steak, double steak, queso, corn, cheese, sour cream, vinaigrette, and guac. It's so big, it doesn't really fit in the Chipotle bowl. It's something I could eat every day.”
University of Georgia Athletics
georgiadogs.com
2024 Recruiting
Asa Newell quotes
“I feel like they need me out there,” I still feel Coach Mike White is doing a fantastic job so there’s nothing really to say. I just know when I get there I can help a lot and finish plays for them.”
“My family went up there last weekend (Athens) but I haven’t visited recently, They’ve come to practices though and tell me how they’re ready and excited to get me on campus.”
“I noticed that they play hard when they’re down and they fight. I also know the player development is going to be there. I see guys doing things now that they weren’t doing at the beginning of the season”
“Before I get there I just want to be more physical, aggressive, and dominant, I feel like I’m starting to do that now. I also want to work on my handle, be an elite knock down shooter, and guard every position. I feel like I have more pep in my step ever since the McDonald’s All American situation. It put a chip on my shoulder.”
2025 Recruiting
Next Opponent: Auburn
Ken Pom
5 Auburn
81 UGA
Evan
6 Auburn
98 UGA
521 Hill
542 JAR
604 Melendez
615 DeLoach
779 Demary, Jr
787 Cain
994 Thomasson
1115 Tchewa
7 Broome
18 Baker-Mazara
49 Williams (Injured)
97 Donaldson
109 Cardwell
117 Holloway
187 KD Johnson
391 C.Johnson
459 Jones
1241 Moore
NCAA Team Stats UGA AU
PPG 109 - 24
FG% 235 - 86
FT% 114 - 39
3P% 139 - 216
REB 195 - 57
A 287 - 10
TO 203 - 66
A/TO 255 - 11
BS 179 - 5
Gadogs.com: Bulldogs Host No. 14 Auburn On Saturday At Stegeman
University of Georgia Athletics
georgiadogs.com
Jaylin Williams won't play at Georgia; timeline for his return still inconclusive
Bruce Pearl
"Going on the road to Stegeman Coliseum," Pearl said. "One of the things that we talked about as far as the league is concerned, the league being as good as it's been maybe ever, would have been that we may get nine teams in the NCAA Tournament but really there are probably 11 teams right now including Georgia that are absolutely within range."
Guard play in the SEC
"I think all of our guards, obviously with a team, again, like Georgia or like Kentucky, or a team like Florida or a team like Alabama," Pearl said. "Some of the best teams in our league have got really good guard play from three or four guards. Not just one or two, but three or four guards. So the question is who can guard who?"
Bye Week
"It was great. I think we needed it with Jaylin's injury, obviously. It helped us get organized, but I think more than anything, we've had since the beginning of the year, it's been two games every week and seven days a week," Pearl said. "It's been that grind
"Tuesday I went out and recruited the state tournament and it was just good to be away a little bit. I thought when I saw the guys yesterday, they were glad to see me, they missed me a little bit and I was glad to see them. But if we had come back Monday and had a game Wednesday, I don't know that it would've felt the same way."
Alabama.com: Why Bruce Pearl is re-shuffling Auburn’s rotation of guards
“For so many weeks at the beginning of this season, Bruce Pearl repetitively fielded questions about the quality of his point guard play, how it didn’t matter whether it was Aden Holloway or Tre Donaldson on the court, how Auburn was just getting efficient and elite leadership from its primary ball-handler. They were at the forefront of an Auburn attack that has a top 10 assist-to-turnover ratio in the country.
And in a Bruce Pearl offense, that’s essential.
Yet then Pearl sat down after Auburn’s 70-59 loss to Kentucky last weekend and it was clear exactly where a key problem had been.
The guard play just wasn’t good enough.
So what happened?
Against Kentucky, it starts with foul trouble. Donaldson had four fouls, K.D. Johnson had three. Pearl said that greatly limited his guard rotation and led to other guards like Denver Jones playing 28 minutes, six more than his season average.
Donaldson’s 11 minutes were a season-low. Neither he nor Holloway had an assist. That’s not a formula Auburn can win with.
Because of foul trouble, Auburn didn’t get the time on the floor or the production from its guards that Pearl wanted against Kentucky, but the rotational changes have stemmed from beyond just the Kentucky loss and beyond foul trouble.
That starts with Jones. He has been added in to make a two-man point guard rotation between Holloway and Donaldson into a three-man group.
“I know as of late, Coach BP told me that he wanted to get a few reps at point, just because of defense, really,” Jones said after the loss to Kentucky. “Tre in foul trouble did kinda move me into the point guard position a little bit longer than expected.”
Jones may be Auburn’s best pure defensive guard. Johnson may be the defender causing the most havoc. Certainly, Jones brings better defense at point guard than Donaldson or Holloway, but he’s entering that rotation for his offense, too.
“Denver is a very versatile guard and I think the issue there was simply K.D. Johnson and Denver both playing well and needing more than just the 40 minutes at the two spot,” Pearl said.
Holloway has struggled mightily since the start of SEC play. He has continued to be reliable for Auburn at point guard with a good assist rate and low turnover numbers, but his scoring has majorly fallen off the point where Pearl recently flipped his starting lineup to Donaldson over Holloway over the last seven games.
It’s been a month since Holloway scored double-digit points in a game. In SEC play, he’s averaging 5.5 points per game and shooting 25% from the field. Over Auburn’s last three games, Holloway is 2-13 from the field and has scored six total points. Pearl has emphasized his confidence in the freshman, but has clearly reached the point where he’s had to make rotational changes at the position.
Nor has Donaldson given consistent scoring production since becoming Auburn’s starting point guard. Since Jan. 27, Donaldson has made two 3-pointers. But he’s been far more effective and efficient inside the arc shooting 49% from the field in SEC play.
And for the most part, Auburn has not been impacted even without its point guards at their best. That’s because Auburn’s forwards have played so well. Auburn’s three leading scorers this year are all forwards.
But with the injury to forward Jaylin Williams (knee), there’s now more onus on the guards to step up. Before Jones made three 3-pointers in Auburn’s loss to Kentucky, Williams was the second-leading 3-point shooter on this team. Holloway is still the leader, though doing so with nearly double the attempts of any other Auburn player.
Losing 13 points per game in Williams during whatever undefined period he may be out for is a huge hole in this team.
Forward Chaney Johnson will likely step into Williams’ spot, but is unlikely to exactly replace the scoring production of his teammate. That slack must be picked up elsewhere. It will likely have to be a guard, especially with how well and how consistently Williams was willing to shoot. Centers Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell will pick up what’s lost on the interior.
Because of Williams’ injury, Auburn will see several rotational changes. Because of how versatile Jones plays, his role will expand to play multiple positions. He’ll be one of several Auburn players expected to be more interchangeable parts because of Williams’ injury.
Late February isn’t the time of year to experiment. Auburn may lack a choice.”
https://www.al.com/auburnbasketball...-re-shuffling-auburns-rotation-of-guards.html
Rivals.com: Chaney ready to ‘give it all that I’ve got’
“With Jaylin Williams sidelined with an injury, it will fall on Chaney Johnson to take a bigger role at Auburn’s four position.
Johnson, who transferred to AU from UAH in the offseason, is averaging just 3.8 points per game but has been lauded by his coaches and teammates as one of the team’s hardest workers.
“Just trying to be better for this team, not just because J-Will is hurt, but just being better, period,” said Johnson. “If I’m putting in the most work or working myself as hard as I can, after my career is over I won’t have any regrets. So why not just give it all that I’ve got.”
Johnson won’t inherit all of Williams’ minutes. Bruce Pearl plans to use a committee approach for the 14th-ranked Tigers game at Georgia, which could include both Johni Broome, the staring five, and Chris Moore, the starting three, playing some four.
“Dylan Cardwell will play some more. Chris Moore, maybe to move around a little bit; Lior Berman,” said Pearl.
Cardwell, who should get more minutes at the five, is excited for what Johnson can bring with more opportunity.
“At the end of the day, just trust your work and he’s put in the most work of anybody on the team,” said Cardwell. “He just has to have the confidence to be the best player on the team. He puts in the most work so just believe in it.”
Pearl said Williams, who injured his knee against Kentucky last Saturday, will travel with the team to Athens but won’t play. After that, the fifth-year senior will be game-to-game.
There was a lot of things talked about 10 days to two weeks, so on and so forth. I don’t think there was anything concrete in that,” said Pearl. “We’ll kinda go from there. Saturday will be one week from his injury. The following Saturday will be two weeks from his injury.”
Chaney ready to ‘give it all that I’ve got’
Chaney Johnson will have to step up for No. 14 Auburn with Jaylin Williams sidelined with an injury.
auburn.rivals.com
SEC Basketball
Alabama
SI.com: Can Alabama Men’s Basketball’s Supercharged Offense Lead to a National Championship?
Can Alabama Men’s Basketball’s Supercharged Offense Lead to a National Championship?
The Crimson Tide are leading the SEC title race by riding small ball to scoring totals not seen in college hoops in more than a decade.
www.si.com
Kentucky
Clay Lexington Herald Leader: Time is running out for this Kentucky basketball team to get it figured out
https://www.kentucky.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/john-clay/article285769131.html
Mississippi State
Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State basketball gets commit from Eric Paymon Jr., the No. 1 in-state recruit
https://www.clarionledger.com/story...-top-in-state-recruit-2024-class/72686765007/
Missouri
KC Star: Takeaways from Mizzou basketball’s 13th straight SEC loss, this one to Tennessee
https://www.kansascity.com/sports/college/sec/university-of-missouri/article283680683.html
South Carolina
ESPN: Lamont Paris has turned South Carolina from an afterthought into a tournament team
“Paris didn't think that way about his team, either. He knew about all the moves he made in the offseason to add the right pieces and build a proper culture for this year's group. And now, everybody can see that those moves have changed the program's fortunes. The addition of Wofford transfer B.J. Mack (13.8 PPG) upgraded South Carolina's offensive capabilities in the paint. Paris also used the portal to get older -- South Carolina had one of the youngest Power 5 teams a year ago -- with veteran players who've helped this team go from a sub-200 ranking in defensive efficiency in 2022-23 to a top-60 spot this season. Those improvements helped South Carolina go from a 21-loss season just a year ago to a 21-win season today.
"You pick my team last?" Paris said about the SEC preseason poll. "Last is what you're going to say? Yeah? OK. Come on. Bring it. That mindset has transferred over to a lot of our players."
This isn't to say that everything this season has gone smoothly -- the team has lost its past two games, one of which was a 40-point blowout at Auburn on Valentine's Day.
But Paris feels most comfortable amid adversity.
As an 11-year-old in Findlay, Ohio, he told those around him that he'd be the first person in his family to attend college. Paris' parents always taught their children to hold their heads high, even if the odds were against them -- and sometimes they were. Paris said he remembers going through the checkout line at the local grocery store and paying with food stamps. But he never felt ashamed.
"You had to lift up the tray, pull out the orange money, and everybody's like, 'Ah, people with food stamps,'" Paris said. "That didn't affect us. It didn't make us feel like we were any worse."
After he graduated in 1996 from the College of Wooster, where he was a two-time captain of the men's basketball team, he decided to pursue a career in coaching -- first as an assistant at Wooster, and then at four other schools over the course of 20 years.
He made just $10,000 and slept on a mattress on the concrete floor of a basement while at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. But he kept working his way into better jobs. After a seven-year stint as an assistant at Wisconsin, he finally got his first head-coaching opportunity in 2017 at Chattanooga, which won 10 games in his first season. In 2022, he led the Mocs to the NCAA tournament, getting the attention of South Carolina, which hired him to replace Frank Martin.
To find the blueprint for building a champion at South Carolina, Paris only had to walk down the hall to women's basketball coach Dawn Staley's office. South Carolina men's basketball aims to rebuild and secure a spot among the sport's best. In women's basketball, Staley -- who took over an unremarkable program in 2008 and turned it into a perennial contender, winning the 2017 and 2022 national championships -- has done that and more. During No. 1 South Carolina's win over UConn earlier this month, a sellout crowd, which included Paris, danced to a DJ's playlist as the team added another victory to its unblemished record.
Paris called Staley an inspiration who made him feel like he belonged when she pulled him onstage during her team's 2022 national title parade only days after he had been hired.
"I think [Paris] is a great coach, a great X's and O's coach," Staley said. "I think he's a great culture coach. He's got the right guys representing him. The sky is the limit for this program. He just needed a chance."
Paris said the key to the team's turnaround has been the culture within the program. Yeah, the word "culture" is a cliché among coaches, but to him, it's real. After a recent practice, players sat on the bench and laughed together instead of going home. That lighthearted vibe existed even before the season started. A preseason trip to the Bahamas enhanced the team's chemistry and helped strengthen the idea that this group could exceed expectations. And the good vibes haven't just been limited to basketball-related trips and activities.
"We hang out with each other a lot," said Minnesota transfer Ta'Lon Cooper, a South Carolina native who is averaging 9.7 PPG and making 44% of his shots from 3-point range. "We go to the women's games. We just vibe with each other. I mean, I tried to take a couple of them roller-skating. They don't like to roller-skate. They tried. I'll give them that. But we'll play video games together. They're just great dudes, man."
Before his team's matchup against Vanderbilt earlier this month, Paris addressed his players in the locker room and made a demand. "Help as you can," he told his team. "Whatever you're called upon to do. That's what our strength is."
Paris, who keeps the two chairs he used on the sideline during Wisconsin's Final Four runs in 2014 and 2015 in his office in Columbia, preaches two things: the value of unity and determination. With the latter quality, this South Carolina group took its ranking in the league's preseason poll as an insult and decided to embarrass its critics.
"Why not us?" Cooper said. "A lot of us came here to build this program. A lot of us are from here. We just want to build this program to where, from here on out, this is what South Carolina men's basketball is about."
After a first-half lull, South Carolina outscored Vanderbilt 47-28 in the second half of that aforementioned victory. To date, it was the peak of the season.
Paris tried to shake as many hands as he could following his local radio show after the Vanderbilt victory. There were supporters of all ages who wanted selfies. But a boy in the front row, who leaned against the yellow security rope that lined the court, conveyed the optimism of a fan base that has witnessed the program's rapid growth.
"Coach Paris!" the boy yelled as the 49-year-old turned toward him. "You've changed South Carolina men's basketball!"
But Paris resists the credit.
"I didn't score a point all season, guys," he said. "They're going to try to tell me that I did something here. My players are out there doing it. Let's not forget that."
How Lamont Paris turned South Carolina from an afterthought to a tournament team
The second-year coach of the Gamecocks has revitalized a program that hasn't danced since 2017.
www.espn.com
Tennessee
Knoxville News Sentinel: Why Tennessee basketball is built for March Madness – and why Vols have some concerns
https://www.knoxnews.com/story/spor...et-dalton-knecht-ncaa-tournament/72691842007/
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