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South Carolina hires Chattanooga head coach and former Wisconsin assistant Lamont Paris, as new coach

Former Wisconsin assistant Lamont Paris is the new head coach of South Carolina basketball.
Matt Belz|
South Carolina hires Chattanooga head coach and former Wisconsin assistant Lamont Paris, as new coach
South Carolina hires Chattanooga head coach and former Wisconsin assistant Lamont Paris, as new coach

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After working the sidelines as an assistant coach with the Wisconsin Badgers from 2010 to 2017, including a Final Four run and a National Championship appearance with Bo Ryan, as well as a Sweet 16 with Greg Gard, Lamont Paris finally earned an opportunity to run a program of his own with the Chattanooga Mocs in 2017. 

After only five years with the Mocs, Paris is once again climbing the coaching ladder. 

On Thursday, South Carolina officially welcomed him as head coach of their men's basketball team. 

Paris takes over for Frank Martin, who was recently let go after a decade with the program, and according to the South Carolina Board of Trustees, Paris will make $12 million over the length of his five-year contract. 

A native of Ohio, Paris suffered through back-to-back losing seasons in his first two years with Chattanooga but turned the program around with three-straight winning seasons and recently led the Mocs to a SoCon regular-season championship and an NCAA Tournament birth in 2022.  

A fan favorite during his time with the Badgers, Paris was the associate head coach under Greg Gard in 2016, and he is now the first African-American coach in South Carolina basketball history.  

Here is what South Carolina athletic director Ray Tanner had to say about the hiring of Paris:

“He has recruited and developed talent at the highest level, helping Wisconsin reach the Final Four on two occasions, and has taken his experiences under some of the nation’s top coaches to build his own winning program at Chattanooga. Off the court, he is a first-class person who will embrace our community and the Gamecock Family. We believe he is one of the bright young coaches in the profession and we are thrilled to have him lead our men’s basketball program.”
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Matt Belz
MATT BELZ

Title: Publisher, Beat Writer for AllBadgers.com, a Sports Illustrated Channel Hello, my name is Matt Belz, and I am the site manager at All Badgers. I previously wrote for multiple years at Buckeyes 5th Quarter and have been the leading publisher here since March of 2022.  When I am not covering the Wisconsin Badgers football and men's basketball teams, I enjoy being outside and spending time with family and friends.  You can follow everything I write about on several different platforms. First and foremost on our site...AllBadgers.com You can follow me personally on Twitter at @savedbythebelz or check out our Facebook page at Wisconsin FanNation on Sports Illustrated.

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