“John Calipari Praises South Carolina Despite SEC Tournament Exit—Lamont Paris Fires Back”
South Carolina’s season came to a heartbreaking end on Wednesday, as the Gamecocks fell 72-68 to Arkansas in the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament opening round in Nashville, TN. Entering the tournament as the No. 16 seed, South Carolina (12-20) was eliminated after a tough-fought battle, capping off a difficult season in which they finished last in the SEC with a 2-16 record.
Despite their early exit, Arkansas head coach John Calipari had high praise for the Gamecocks, emphasizing how tough they were, even in a stacked SEC.
“South Carolina, in a different league, they’re good,” Calipari said. “They’ve got big guys. They’ve got guards. This league is unforgiving.”
However, South Carolina head coach Lamont Paris had a strong response to Calipari’s remarks, pushing back on the idea that his team would perform better in a weaker conference.
“What does that even mean? We’re in this league,” Paris said. “(The SEC) is the best league. This is the best league in the history of college basketball, they are saying, by any metric that you would like to choose. Including your eyeballs.”
Paris continued, making it clear that South Carolina doesn’t need to play elsewhere to succeed.
“There’s not some other world where we need to play in another league in order to win games,” Paris stated. “There’s another world we play in this league where we play and things go our way.”
This loss was yet another close contest for South Carolina, a team that struggled to close out tight games all season. The Gamecocks finished 0-7 in SEC games decided by five points or fewer, showing just how agonizingly close they were to a different outcome.
With their season officially over, South Carolina now turns its attention to 2025-26, hoping to flip those narrow defeats into wins.
