COLUMBIA, S.C. — Lamont Paris is now officially the head coach of the University of South Carolina men’s basketball team, beginning a new era for the program that looks to end a five year stretch of missing the postseason.
A news conference is taking place now where Paris is speaking for the first time. WLTX has live coverage here on WLTX.com, on our Roku and Amazon Fire app, and on our YouTube page.
USC’s board of trustees voted to approve a five year, $12 million contract for him at a meeting Thursday afternoon.
Paris will make $2.2 million in his first year, with stepped increase of $100,000 each year, with him making $2.6 million in the final year, which would be the 2026-2027 season. The deal also includes incentive bonuses for reaching the postseason.
Paris, 47, also becomes the first African American to be hired as Gamecock men’s head coach in program history.
LIVE: Lamont Paris News Conference
“I am excited to be named the head coach at South Carolina,” said Paris in a statement. “The opportunity to build on what this program has achieved recently is exciting. While I am the head coach, I wouldn’t be where I am today without the many head and assistant coaches and student-athletes that I have worked with. I want Gamecock fans to know that we will have a program that you will be proud of and one that will compete for championships.”
“Lamont Paris is the right choice to lead our men’s basketball program,” said USC Athletics Director Ray Tanner. “When we began this search, I said we wanted to hire someone with a winning coaching history, who has the energy, passion and commitment to excellence in all areas of the student-athlete experience. Coach Paris checks all of those boxes.”
USC Trustee Charles Williams was the only member to vote against the contract, saying he felt the buyout clause was too large. He mentioned at the school is still paying a buyout to former football coaches.
Word that a deal had been reached to hire Paris first surfaced on Monday night in published reports but the school did not confirm the news.
Paris had most recently been the head coach at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where this team had a 24-7 record this past season and made the NCAA Tournament. Despite putting up a valiant effort, the Mocs fell to Illinois 54-53 in the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
In his five years at Chattanooga, Paris posted a 87-71 record and increased his win total each season.
An Ohio native, Paris has 25 years of coaching experience and was a member of Wisconsin’s Final Four staffs in 2014 and 2015.
He replaces Frank Martin, who was dismissed as the coach of the Gamecocks back on March 14 after 10 years with the school. The Gamecocks had just finished an 18-13 season that saw the team fail to reach both the NCAA Tournament and the NIT. In making the decision, Tanner said a change was needed in the program.