Lamont Paris

Paris commenced his coaching career as an assistant at Wooster (1997-1998), DePauw (1998-2000), and Indiana University of Pennsylvania (2001-2004), steadily building a reputation for his coaching acumen and ability to develop talent. Paris’s career progressed with impactful assistant coaching positions at the Division I level. From 2005 to 2010, he was an assistant at Akron, where the team achieved multiple 20-win seasons, notably their first 20-win season since 1974-75, and secured a Mid-American Conference Championship in 2009. He then joined the Wisconsin coaching staff for seven seasons (2010-2017), a period during which the Badgers averaged 27 wins per year.

His work with All-Americans like Frank Kaminsky and NBA draft pick Sam Dekker highlighted his effectiveness in recruiting and player development, leading to his elevation to associate head coach under Greg Gard. In 2017, Paris became the head coach at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, guiding the Mocs to an 87-72 overall record over five seasons, dramatically improving their performance with a 65-29 record in his final three years. This success led to his appointment as the head coach at the University of South Carolina on March 24, 2022, becoming the first African-American head coach in the program’s history. In his first season, he defeated Clemson for the first time since 2014 (2022) and secured South Carolina’s first win at Rupp Arena since 2009 (2023).

He was named the SEC Coach of the Year by both the league’s coaches and the Associated Press (AP) in 2024, alongside being a Naismith National Coach of the Year Finalist and Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Finalist. Paris continues to develop NBA-level talent, evidenced by Gregory “GG” Jackson II being selected 45th overall in the 2023 NBA Draft by Memphis and the anticipated selection of Collin Murray-Boyles in the 2025 NBA Draft.