7 things to know about Lamont Paris, South Carolina men’s basketball coach

It’s officially NCAA Tournament time for the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Here are seven things to know about head coach Lamont Paris, who is in his second season with the Gamecocks and guided them to a No. 6 seed in March Madness and a date with No. 11 Oregon at 4 p.m. Thursday (TNT):

Coaching history

Paris holds the distinction of getting South Carolina to the NCAA Tournament the fastest. He’s led the program to the postseason in Year 2. George Felton and Dave Odom got the Gamecocks to the tournament in their third years.

Paris’ coaching career was mostly in the Midwest before he went to Chattanooga and then arrived in Columbia. After coaching at his alma mater in Ohio, he had stints at DePauw in Indiana, Indiana University of Pennsylvania outside Pittsburgh, Akron and Wisconsin.

NCAA Tournament experience

Paris has coached in three Final Fours. He was on staff for back-to-back trips with Wisconsin in 2014 and 2015. He was an assistant at Indiana University of Pennsylvania when it made the Division II Final Four in 2002.

How old is Lamont Paris?

Paris is 49 years old. He got his first head coaching job at age 43, when he was hired by Chattanooga. He led the Mocs to a 27–8 record in his fifth year, winning the SoCon and almost upsetting Illinois in the NCAA tournament.

Salary, contract at South Carolina

Paris was set to earn $2.3 million for coaching the 2023-24 season with the Gamecocks. He’ll get a raise to more than $4 million with a six-year contract extension he just signed.

Did he play college basketball?

Paris played Division-III basketball at the College of Wooster. He was a solid role player his last two seasons, and he averaged 10.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game as a senior. He is from Findlay, Ohio, which is 45 miles south of Toledo.

What’s he wearing?

In his short tenure with the Gamecocks, Paris has become identified with his trademark quarter-zip pullovers. He wears them on the sideline and seemingly in a wide variety of situations (including move-in day in the sweltering Columbia summer heat). The fans took notice, and his coworkers like Dawn Staley and Shane Beamer have been catching on. It’s even become part of the university’s marketing efforts around men’s basketball.

Is he married?

Paris is not married, but he has a longtime girlfriend named Laura Klimchock. A former college athlete herself, Klimchock met Paris when she was an academic advisor at Akron while he was an assistant coach under Keith Dambrot.