Sec Coach of the Year

[SGMVols]

Depends. If Wisconsin was open, then maybe. OSU appears to be targeting Sean Miller or bust. Not many coaches walk away after two years-including one wildly successful year.. He may see South Carolina men's hoops for what it is-totally mismanaged for decades..

Word around South Carolina is they are reworking his contract and it will be huge. Dawn Staley is one of his best friends. So much so that he built a beautiful home right down the street from her facing the river. USCe may have lucked out with the timing. BTW, I live in Columbia so I hear a lot.

Frank Martin made the mistake of assuming he had a job for life there after his Final Four run. I can’t imagine if a job like Louisville came calling that Paris wouldn’t at least strongly consider it. He will always be third fiddle to football and WBB at SC no matter what he does.

 

[cncchris33]

This is a great and overlooked point, sometimes the stars just align, need to see a guy do it for more than 1 year to make me think he’s a future HOF.

In general, I agree.

If I may, though, there are few distinctions, perhaps minor, that lend a bit more credence to Paris and his credentials over Gates, for me.

Gates only had 3 years of HC experience at Cleveland State when he got the job at Missouri and he had mixed results in those 3 years...
Year 1: 11-21
Year 2: 19-8 NCAAT Rd. Of 64
Year 3: 20-11 NIT

Paris had 5 years of HC experience at Chattanooga when he got the USCe job and had shown steady and sustained improvement each season...
Year 1: 10-23
Year 2: 12-20
Year 3: 20-13
Year 4: 18-8
Year 5: 27-8 NCAAT Rd. Of 64

Gates also inherited an all-SEC player and 1st rd pick in Kobe Brown at Mizzou and brought in 9 transfers which led to his immediate success. And despite that success, Mizzou still finished well off the pace in 22-23, 5 games back in the SEC race.

Paris inherited next to nothing at USCe. He lost the best players he'd have had, which was a nice young roster, honestly. Devin Carter is averaging 19.2 pts, 8.4 rebs, and 3.6 assts for Kim English at Providence. Jermaine Couisnard is averaging 15.5 pts, 4.5 rebs, and 2.9 assts at Oregon. Paris brought in limited transfers, choosing instead to build a program the more traditional way, and was fortunate to land a stud freshman in GG Jackson. That team took its lumps, but only saw 4 kids transfer out as opposed to the 10 the year before when he was hired. You supplement that with a handful of incoming impact transfers, and suddenly you have a turnaround that wasn't and isn't dependent on you flipping your roster every year.

There is a lot left in the careers of those two, so who knows what the future holds. I just think Gates has been more flash in the pan to this point while Paris has demonstrated a more methodical path to success that may have more staying power. Time will tell for both.

 

[cncchris33]

Frank Martin made the mistake of assuming he had a job for life there after his Final Four run. I can’t imagine if a job like Louisville came calling that Paris wouldn’t at least strongly consider it. He will always be third fiddle to football and WBB at SC no matter what he does.

Paris is from Ohio and has been an assistant at both Wooster (his alma mater) and Akron. He also has Big 10 experience as an assistant as he was at Wisconsin for 8 seasons. If Ohio State were to come calling, I think he'd strongly consider that job. It's an obvious step up from South Carolina, but still under a bit of protection for a younger HC of not being the primary spotlight sport.

 

[posivol]

Paris teaches his guys to play dirty ball. Body up and foul on every possession because they won't call them all. For the lack of talent, they have it has worked well for him. Come tournament time i think those fouls will be called and his team will get bounced out quickly.

 

[Rockytop10nessee]

Depends. If Wisconsin was open, then maybe. OSU appears to be targeting Sean Miller or bust. Not many coaches walk away after two years-including one wildly successful year.. He may see South Carolina men's hoops for what it is-totally mismanaged for decades..

Word around South Carolina is they are reworking his contract and it will be huge. Dawn Staley is one of his best friends. So much so that he built a beautiful home right down the street from her facing the river. USCe may have lucked out with the timing. BTW, I live in Columbia so I hear a lot.

Which year has been wildly successful? They’re pretty good this year. But I don’t expect them to make it out of the first weekend of the dance.

 

[gray0306]

Will they award this to Rick Barnes for having best record/team or Lamont Paris for bringing South Carolina out of the gutter. Weigh in….

and without the potal they'd still be trash

 

[MountainDooley]

Whoever it was at South Carolina that brought in Meechie Johnson from Ohio State deserves it imo. Dude plays like a beast, or at least against us he does. Does anyone know if he has NBA potential?

 

[vavolfan6]

Lamont Paris has done a great job, but I don't think its as clear and away of a better coaching job than others in the conference. If you look at USCjr's schedule, they've been able to avoid playing the top teams in the conference twice. They only had to play Kentucky, Auburn, Alabama, and Florida once. I also think some teams, like our's, overlooked them a bit earlier in the season.

One could make a good case for Todd Golden at Florida. Florida has a higher net ranking and no Quad 3 or 4 losses unlike SC. They has to play Kentucky x2, Bama x2, @tennessee, @USC, @Texas A&M. They didn't quite get the scheduke breaks.

I get USC was picked last in conference in the pre-season, but that's becuase they were so terrible last season with Lamont Paris as coach. They were getting run out of the gym. Plus, they have been able to use those rankings as a motivation for the whole year on top of being overlooked by other teams. And it's not like Lamont developed his talent, he just went into the transfer portal and grabbed some upperclassmen.

To me, It's alot harder to be given high expectations, be targered every game, and still meet those expectations like Tennessee did.

 

[cncchris33]

Lamont Paris has done a great job, but I don't think its as clear and away of a better coaching job than others in the conference. If you look at USCjr's schedule, they've been able to avoid playing the top teams in the conference twice. They only had to play Kentucky, Auburn, Alabama, and Florida once. I also think some teams, like our's, overlooked them a bit earlier in the season.

One could make a good case for Todd Golden at Florida. Florida has a higher net ranking and no Quad 3 or 4 losses unlike SC. They has to play Kentucky x2, Bama x2, @tennessee, @USC, @Texas A&M. They didn't quite get the scheduke breaks.

I get USC was picked last in conference in the pre-season, but that's becuase they were so terrible last season with Lamont Paris as coach. They were getting run out of the gym. Plus, they have been able to use those rankings as a motivation for the whole year on top of being overlooked by other teams. And it's not like Lamont developed his talent, he just went into the transfer portal and grabbed some upperclassmen.

To me, It's alot harder to be given high expectations, be targered every game, and still meet those expectations like Tennessee did.

It feels like you're discounting a lot of the things that have made USCe currently tied for the 2nd best team in the conference.

Certainly they've been the beneficiary of a generous conference schedule (out of their control), but the same things you're holding against Paris go unmentioned about Todd Golden who you're making a case for.

L. Paris brought in 4 transfers. T. Golden brought in 6. In fact, Florida's top four scorers are transfers. We don't hold that against him because it's the landscape of college basketball these days, especially for newer coaches forced to flip their rosters. But we also can't at the same time hold that against Paris. Both schools/coaches are heavily reliant on transfers.

South Carolina wasn't good last year, but Florida wasn't markedly better, either. They both had losing records. Bad records in a coach's first year isn't necessarily surprising, and both guys struggled.

Lastly, Paris beat Golden in their only head-to-head matchup this year if a tiebreaker was necessary. They also beat the SEC Champs in their own house (unfortunately) while Florida got blown out in the same building.

I don't think we should overthink this. Lamont Paris is gonna win it, and I won't be surprised if it isn't nearly unanimous.

 

[GUNTERSVOL]

It feels like you're discounting a lot of the things that have made USCe currently tied for the 2nd best team in the conference.

Certainly they've been the beneficiary of a generous conference schedule (out of their control), but the same things you're holding against Paris go unmentioned about Todd Golden who you're making a case for.

L. Paris brought in 4 transfers. T. Golden brought in 6. In fact, Florida's top four scorers are transfers. We don't hold that against him because it's the landscape of college basketball these days, especially for newer coaches forced to flip their rosters. But we also can't at the same time hold that against Paris. Both schools/coaches are heavily reliant on transfers.

South Carolina wasn't good last year, but Florida wasn't markedly better, either. They both had losing records. Bad records in a coach's first year isn't necessarily surprising, and both guys struggled.

Lastly, Paris beat Golden in their only head-to-head matchup this year if a tiebreaker was necessary. They also beat the SEC Champs in their own house (unfortunately) while Florida got blown out in the same building.

I don't think we should overthink this. Lamont Paris is gonna win it, and I won't be surprised if it isn't nearly unanimous.

As big a homer as I am, I had to vote for Paris. More with less.

 

[vavolfan6]

It feels like you're discounting a lot of the things that have made USCe currently tied for the 2nd best team in the conference.

Certainly they've been the beneficiary of a generous conference schedule (out of their control), but the same things you're holding against Paris go unmentioned about Todd Golden who you're making a case for.

L. Paris brought in 4 transfers. T. Golden brought in 6. In fact, Florida's top four scorers are transfers. We don't hold that against him because it's the landscape of college basketball these days, especially for newer coaches forced to flip their rosters. But we also can't at the same time hold that against Paris. Both schools/coaches are heavily reliant on transfers.

South Carolina wasn't good last year, but Florida wasn't markedly better, either. They both had losing records. Bad records in a coach's first year isn't necessarily surprising, and both guys struggled.

Lastly, Paris beat Golden in their only head-to-head matchup this year if a tiebreaker was necessary. They also beat the SEC Champs in their own house (unfortunately) while Florida got blown out in the same building.

I don't think we should overthink this. Lamont Paris is gonna win it, and I won't be surprised if it isn't nearly unanimous.

I may have overlooked the amount of transfers Florida has on their roster, but my overally point wasn't about making a case for Todd Golden as much as it was a case against Lamont Paris. He deserves credit, and I don't doubt he will win coach of the year, but it is overblown in my opinion. It's not as good of a coaching job as he is credited for. It shouldn't be unanimous. And he doesn't deserve national coach of the year recognition in my opinion.

South Carolina may be tied for 2nd, but they are in a 4 way tie for that position and only one win above Florida. And as I mentioned, they had a very favorable break in their schedule. A fair schedule and they are probably middle of the pack. Sure they beat Florida, but they had the break of it being on their home floor. They have a 40 point loss and a 27 point loss. They have two Quad 3 losses.

Also its one thing to be projected middle of the league and dead last. Its been SC mantra the whole year that they were picked last. Sure, Florida wasn't much better, but they weren't picked last and can't use the same battle cry. We did the same thing years ago when we were picked 13th and were season champs. SC won't be able ro do the same next year and I expect a Texas A&M type of reversion to the mean.

 

[cncchris33]

I may have overlooked the amount of transfers Florida has on their roster, but my overally point wasn't about making a case for Todd Golden as much as it was a case against Lamont Paris. He deserves credit, and I don't doubt he will win coach of the year, but it is overblown in my opinion. It's not as good of a coaching job as he is credited for. It shouldn't be unanimous. And he doesn't deserve national coach of the year recognition in my opinion.

South Carolina may be tied for 2nd, but they are in a 4 way tie for that position and only one win above Florida. And as I mentioned, they had a very favorable break in their schedule. A fair schedule and they are probably middle of the pack. Sure they beat Florida, but they had the break of it being on their home floor. They have a 40 point loss and a 27 point loss. They have two Quad 3 losses.

Also its one thing to be projected middle of the league and dead last. Its been SC mantra the whole year that they were picked last. Sure, Florida wasn't much better, but they weren't picked last and can't use the same battle cry. We did the same thing years ago when we were picked 13th and were season champs. SC won't be able ro do the same next year and I expect a Texas A&M type of reversion to the mean.

Ehh, I had a detailed response typed out and my browser refreshed on me.

Short version: I will admit his effort would be more impressive 15 years ago without the portal at his disposal, but every team has that option available to rebuild their roster, so it isn't an advantage over his peers. I also don't think you can hold their motivation against them. They still had to win the games. A good coach will find every angle imaginable to motivate their team.

I respect your opinion, but I think you're discounting their effort and the job Paris did. I wonder how many times the team picked dead last has finished top-3 in the SEC? I bet it isn't a lot.

 

[On In Two]

I'll take Barnes at his word. He said if he had a vote for national coach of the year he would vote for Paris. I mean, that takes nothing away from Barnes' effort this year. He is the best coach in the conference and should make his first Final Four after coaching a boatload of NBA talent over his career.

Golden went up against USCe as arguably the hottest team in the league (then) and went home with his tail between his legs because his kids didn't handle the moment and their coach couldn't figure out how to handle a 1-3-1. That separates that clown from Paris right there.

 

[On In Two]

Frank Martin made the mistake of assuming he had a job for life there after his Final Four run. I can’t imagine if a job like Louisville came calling that Paris wouldn’t at least strongly consider it. He will always be third fiddle to football and WBB at SC no matter what he does.

LOL. Martin was and is a maniac. Kids (like JJJ, Burns and many others) don't need his shtick these days. Barnes yells, too. But he doesn't come close to the abusive tirades that Martin constantly spewed. He would actually get mad at his team and sit there and pout. In typical USCe fashion, he gets them to the FF and then does not even come close to the dance thereafter. He deserved to be fired.

There is a real hunger for solid MBB in Columbia. We will see if their crappy administration comes through.