South Carolina made it a sweep of the SEC basketball coach of the year honors Monday when Lamont Paris was recognized by his peers for his job with the Gamecocks this season in guiding them to a program best 25 regular season wins. Last week, the Gamecocks’ Dawn Staley was named the SEC Women’s Coach of the Year.
It’s the second Coach of the Year honor for Paris. He won the honor in the Southern Conference in 2022 after leading UT-Chattanooga to the NCAA Tournament.
The Gamecocks were voted by a panel in the pre-season to finish last in the SEC standings this season. At the SEC Basketball Media Day in October, Paris questioned that vote and told those in the room they would not be the worst team in the league. He was correct, and by a wide margin.
The Gamecocks went into the final week of the regular season with a chance to win the championship. That was derailed by a close loss at home to Tennessee. The Gamecocks bounced back with a win at Mississippi State Saturday to finish with a 13-5 league mark, good for a four-way tie for second in the league standings.
The USC backcourt of Meechie Johnson and Ta’Lon Cooper were named to the All-SEC Second Team. Johnson is averaging over 14 points, four rebounds and three assists per game this season. Cooper is averaging around nine points, four rebounds and five assists per game.
Gamecock forward Collin Murray-Boyles was named to the All-Freshman Team.
2023-24 SEC Men’s Basketball Awards
First Team
Mark Sears, Alabama
Johni Broome, Auburn
Zyon Pullin, Florida
Antonio Reeves, Kentucky
Tolu Smith III, Mississippi State
Dalton Knecht, Tennessee
Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee
Wade Taylor IV, Texas A&M
Second Team
Jaylin Williams, Auburn
Walter Clayton Jr., Florida
Rob Dillingham, Kentucky
Reed Sheppard, Kentucky
Matthew Murrell, Ole Miss
Josh Hubbard, Mississippi State
Ta’Lon Cooper, South Carolina
Meechie Johnson, South Carolina
Jonas Aidoo, Tennessee
All-Defensive Team
Johni Broome, Auburn
Cameron Matthews, Mississippi State
Jonas Aidoo, Tennessee
Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee
Andersson Garcia, Texas A&M
All-Freshman Team
Aden Holloway, Auburn
Alex Condon, Florida
Silas Demary Jr., Georgia
Rob Dillingham, Kentucky
Reed Sheppard, Kentucky
D.J. Wagner, Kentucky
Josh Hubbard, Mississippi State
Collin Murray-Boyles, South Carolina
Coach of the Year: Lamont Paris, South Carolina
Player of the Year: Dalton Knecht, Tennessee
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Sean East II, Missouri
Freshman of the Year: Reed Sheppard, Kentucky
Sixth-Man of the Year: Rob Dillingham, Kentucky
Defensive Player of the Year: Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee