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by WILL FOLKS
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The University of South Carolina’s perpetual incentivizing and accommodation of athletic mediocrity is set to continue as embattled men’s basketball coach Lamont Paris will return to Columbia, S.C. for a fifth season this fall.
“Barring a major change of heart on the part of the South Carolina administration, Lamont Paris will return for a fifth year to lead the Gamecocks men’s basketball program, multiple contacts have confirmed to me,” Gamecock insider JC Shurburtt wrote on X early Tuesday (March 10, 2026).
Shurburtt noted another Gamecock insider, John Whittle, had heard the same information from his network of sources.
Shortly after these reports were published, South Carolina’s athletics department confirmed Paris would indeed be sticking around for at least one more season.
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Paris, 51, of Findlay, Ohio, has posted a 62-67 (.481) record in four years at the helm of the Gamecock program – including a 23-49 (.319) mark in conference play. Like head football coach Shane Beamer, Paris recorded one good season in Columbia – for which he was handsomely rewarded with a huge contract extension (complete with a massive buyout).
Since then, though, his program has spiraled…
Paris received a six-year, $26 million contract extension in March of 2024 from former athletics director Ray Tanner and the university board after his 2023-2024 team reached the NCAA tournament and tied a school record for victories in a season (26). Since receiving his new deal from Tanner, Paris’ teams have gone 25-38 (.396) – including a 6-30 (.166) record against SEC opponents.
More often than not, those losses have not been competitive…
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Second-year athletics director Jeremiah Donati chose to stand pat with Beamer following last year’s atrocious 4-8 campaign on the gridiron, and is standing pat with Paris, as well. Why isn’t Donati pulling the trigger… setting up his first major hire since becoming athletics director last January?
Money.
Beamer’s current buyout is estimated at nearly $28 million, while Paris’ buyout is estimated at $12 million.
Critics of South Carolina’s program have argued it must invest more resources into name, image and likeness (NIL) deals for players in order for Paris to stand a fighting chance.
According to college basketball analyst Jeff Goodman, South Carolina’s administration “knows it needs to step up in NIL resources to give (Paris) a chance to be competitive.”
If that’s true, why didn’t it “step up” sooner?
Paris’ squad faces Oklahoma tomorrow night (March 11, 2026) in the first round of the 2026 SEC tournament. Tip-off from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee is set for 9:30 p.m. EDT.
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UPDATE |
Paris’ return for a fifth season at the helm of South Carolina’s men’s basketball program has now been officially confirmed by the athletics department.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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1 comment
USC can’t afford to buy out all of the men’s coaches. So they’re content with sucking for yet another year.