COLUMBIA, S.C. — Lamont Paris has come to Columbia from Chattanooga where he was the head coach of that program for the past five seasons.
The move from the Southern Conference to the SEC not only is gigantic leap in terms of competition, but it is also a more comfortable feeling knowing that league will send multiple teams to the NCAA Tournament.
Paris says the pressure of coaching in the mid-majors such as the Southern Conference is ratcheted up in the post-season as most of those leagues get just one bid to the Big Dance that goes to the winner of the tournament. It took a buzzer-beating three-pointer for Chattanooga to defeat Furman and earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.