Lamont Paris
Lamont Paris is an American college basketball coach who is currently the head men's basketball coach at South Carolina.
Playing career
Paris played high school basketball at Findlay High School in Findlay, Ohio. He then played college basketball at the College of Wooster, Ohio, where he was captain for his junior and senior seasons while also being a two-time All-North Coast Athletic Conference selection.
Coaching career
After beginning his coaching career as an assistant at his alma mater during the 1997-98 season, Paris moved on to assistant coaching stints at DePauw and IUP before landing on Keith Dambrot's staff at Akron where he stayed for five seasons. Paris then joined Bo Ryan's staff at Wisconsin in 2010, and was a part of two Sweet 16 squads and the Badgers' Final Four and national championship game appearances during the 2013–14 and 2014-15 seasons. When Ryan stepped down, Paris was elevated to associate head coach under Greg Gard when Gard was given the job on a permanent basis.
Chattanooga
On April 4, 2017, Paris was introduced as the 20th head coach in Chattanooga history, replacing Matt McCall who left to become the head coach at Massachusetts. During the 2021–22 season, Paris led the 2021–22 [Chattanooga Mocs men's basketball team|Mocs] to a 27–8 record and the Southern Conference regular season and tournament championships. In the NCAA Tournament, 13th seeded Chattanooga narrowly lost to Illinois [Fighting Illini men's basketball|Illinois] 54–53.
On March 22, 2022, Paris was officially announced as head basketball coach at South Carolina, replacing Frank Martin. Paris, who signed a five-year deal, became the first African-American to lead the Gamecocks' men's basketball program. The 2023-2024 season saw Paris named SEC Coach of the Year after leading the Gamecocks to a 13-5 conference record and 26-7 overall record ahead of the NCAA tournament. He was also named a finalist for the 2023-24 Werner Ladder Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year Award.