Time for Lamont Paris contract extension at South Carolina? Here’s what Ray Tanner says

Historical success has graced the South Carolina men’s basketball program this season. Now, athletic director Ray Tanner and the university might be preparing to lock down the program’s head coach for a little longer.

While talking with radio hosts Jay Philips and Elijah Campbell on 107.5 The Game on Wednesday afternoon, Tanner gave some insight to coach Lamont Paris’ future with South Carolina.

The second-year men’s basketball head coach has brought the No. 15 Gamecocks its first Associated Press Top 25 ranking in seven years. South Carolina (20-3) is the first SEC program to reach 20 wins this season, is currently second in the conference standings (8-2) and is on a six-game winning streak.

Paris is in Year Two of a five-year contract that runs through the 2026-27 season at a salary of $2.3 million for 2023-24. The grows to $2.6 million in Year Five.

When asked by Phillips if he’s currently discussing contract extensions with Paris and/or his representation, Tanner declined to comment. When asked if the school expects contract discussions to take place, the AD didn’t directly answer but said he’s been very pleased with Paris’ growth of the program.

“We feel very good about where Coach Paris is, and we want him around for a very long time,” Tanner said.

Those 20 wins are the most in program history by a second-year head coach — George Felton won 19 games with the Gamecocks in 1987-88. It’s also Paris’ third career 20-win season as a college head coach.

South Carolina typically handles such things as raises and contract extensions in the offseason, so it’s not likely a subject that’ll be officially handled until April or May.

The Gamecocks are trending toward their first NCAA tournament appearance since the 2016-17 season. USC earned its first AP poll ranking after defeating then-No. 6 Kentucky and then-No. 5 Tennessee within a week.