South Carolina AD releases statement after decision to retain Lamont Paris for 2026-27 season
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
South Carolina athletics director Jeremiah Donati understands that his decision to retain Lamont Paris through at least the 2026-27 season was a controversial one. That’s considering the Gamecocks, after a 26-8 mark and an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2024, have won a total of 25 games in the past two seasons combined.
On Tuesday evening, Donati released a statement backing Paris, while promising increased NIL resources to boost the program’s fortunes.
“Coach Paris can win here and he has proven it,” Donati wrote. “Our goal is to build a men’s basketball program at South Carolina that is consistently competitive in the SEC and nationally. To reach our goals, it will require an increased level of investment across the program that matches these expectations. We are committed to making these critical investments.”
Paris was the choice to succeed Frank Martin after South Carolina parted ways with him in 2022. That was after the Gamecocks failed to make an NCAA Tournament after a historic Final Four appearance in 2017.
Paris, who won 27 games and led Chattanooga to the Big Dance in the last of his five seasons there, went just 11-21 and 4-14 in the SEC in his first season in Columbia. There was optimism that the Gamecocks were moving forward after a much-improved 2023-24 campaign saw them make their first NCAA Tournament in seven years.
The past two seasons have been anything but successful. South Carolina won 12 games in 2024-25. It’s won 13 games going into its SEC Tournament first-round matchup against Oklahoma on Wednesday.
Still, Paris has Donati’s support. But that might not last long if the Gamecocks get off to a slow start in the upcoming season.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
