New South Carolina men’s basketball coach Lamont Paris will get an early chance to make a big impression for the Gamecock faithful in the 2022 Charleston Classic.

The Gamecocks will join Charleston, Furman, Old Dominion, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Davidson and Colorado State in the field.

Paris takes over for Frank Martin, who went 171-147 in ten seasons at South Carolina. He led the Gamecocks to a Final Four appearance in 2017 before getting fired after an 18-13 season. Paris went 87-72 in five seasons at Chattanooga, leading the program to a 27-8 record in 2021.

South Carolina’s first game in the tournament will be against Colorado State. From there, we’ll see how the field progresses.