Mountain Brook, AL– USC men’s basketball coach Lamont Paris made his first appearance at the SEC Tipoff in Birmingham Wednesday morning, just a short time after the league announced the preseason media poll that showed his Gamecocks team projected to finish last in the league. And that did not make Paris mad. Quite the opposite. Paris said he will use that #14 identification for motivation, for both him and his players.
Paris was the first coach to speak in the main interview room Wednesday morning and he did not answer questions like a coach expecting to be beaten down this season by his SEC rivals. Paris said his pedigree as a coach won’t allow him to accept last place projections.
Paris said he plans to use a rotation of at least nine players this season, and he likes to give his players a consistent number of minutes on the floor. He also said his team was nicked up some at this point of pre-season practice, but the only player who is out is Ebrima Dibba who suffered a season ending Achilles injury in the summer.
Lamont Paris at SEC Tipoff
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SEC Pre-Season Media Poll
1.Kentucky
2.Arkansas
3.Tennessee
4.Auburn
5.Alabama
6.Texas A&M
7.Florida
8.LSU
9.Ole Miss
10.Mississippi State
11.Missouri
12.Vanderbilt
13.Georgia
14.South Carolina
| First Team All-SEC | ||||||
| Nick Smith Jr. | Arkansas | G | Fr. | 6-5 | 185 | Jacksonville, Ark. |
| Colin Castleton | Florida | F | 5th | 6-11 | 250 | Deland, Fla. |
| Oscar Tshiebwe | Kentucky | F | Sr. | 6-9 | 260 | Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Sahvir Wheeler | Kentucky | G | Sr. | 5-9 | 180 | Houston, Texas |
| Santiago Vescovi | Tennessee | G | Sr. | 6-3 | 192 | Montevideo, Uruguay |
| Second Team All-SEC | ||||||
| Brandon Miller | Alabama | F | Fr. | 6-9 | 200 | Antioch, Tenn. |
| Jahvon Quinerly | Alabama | G | Sr. | 6-1 | 175 | Hackensack, N.J. |
| KJ Williams | LSU | F | 5th | 6-10 | 250 | Cleveland, Miss. |
| Josiah-Jordan James | Tennessee | G | Sr. | 6-6 | 224 | Charleston, S.C. |
| Zakai Zeigler | Tennessee | G | So. | 5-9 | 171 | Long Island, N.Y. |
| SEC Player of the Year | ||||||
| Oscar Tshiebwe | Kentucky | F | Sr. | 6-9 | 260 | Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo |
