{"id":8799,"date":"2023-06-26T03:46:15","date_gmt":"2023-06-26T08:46:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/?p=8799"},"modified":"2023-06-26T03:46:15","modified_gmt":"2023-06-26T08:46:15","slug":"lamont-paris-excited-to-have-first-player-drafted-as-head-coach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/lamont-paris-excited-to-have-first-player-drafted-as-head-coach\/","title":{"rendered":"Lamont Paris excited to have first player drafted as head coach"},"content":{"rendered":"

Not everything went well for South Carolina<\/a><\/strong> in Lamont Paris\u2019 first season as head coach as the Gamecocks finished at 11-21. However, at least one success did come from it as GG Jackson<\/a>, their five-star freshman and leading scorer, made it to the pros<\/a> as the No. 45 pick by the Memphis Grizzlies<\/a> in the 2023 NBA Draft<\/a>.<\/p>\n

During Jackson\u2019s draft party<\/a>, Paris spoke with the media<\/a> about what it meant for his program<\/a> as well as his pupil. He said it was exciting considering what it says about what he was able to help Jackson accomplish at his age.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI get really excited about helping these guys<\/a>. I was their age at one point. Everybody was,\u201d Paris said<\/a>. \u201cSomebody helped me when I was their age. You don\u2019t even recognize it. GG doesn\u2019t fully recognize it right now. I just get excited about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jackson averaged 15.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game in his lone collegiate season. He was able to make the All-SEC Freshman Team<\/a> by the end of the campaign.<\/p>\n

He did so as one of the youngest players in college basketball<\/a> as a 17, and now 18, year old. That\u2019s because, after originally committing<\/a> to North Carolina<\/a><\/strong>, Jackson decommitted<\/a> from the Tar Heels, reclassified to the 2022<\/a> class from 2023<\/a>, and committed to play for Paris in Columbia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Jackson arrived at his home state\u2019s school as the highest-rated recruit in program history and one of only two five-star talents in recent memory. He was ranked as the No. 8 player overall in On3\u2019s Industry Rankings<\/a> as well as the No. 2 PF<\/a> in the class and the No. 1 player out of South Carolina<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In the end, Jackson became the school\u2019s third NBA<\/a> selection since the turn of the century and first<\/a> since Sindarius Thornwell<\/a> went 48th overall in 2017<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Again, things weren\u2019t always smooth sailing<\/a> for Paris, Jackson, or the Gamecocks last season. Still, considering he achieved his dream at his young age<\/a>, Jackson\u2019s success is something that Paris and South Carolina\u2019s program<\/a> will want to hang their hats on moving forward.<\/p>\n

Jackson apologizes for behavior toward coaches, teammates at South Carolina<\/h2>\n

GG Jackson\u2018s time at\u00a0South Carolina\u00a0most likely did not go as planned. After reclassifying and heading to college early, there were inconsistencies with his game throughout the season. The Gamecocks were not very good either, finishing 10 games below .500 and 4-14 in SEC play. A tough year all around in Columbia.<\/p>\n

There were some off-the-court issues with Jackson as well. Tensions may have boiled over at certain parts of the season, with both South Carolina coaches and teammates. Jackson even publically called out the coaching staff before later apologizing.<\/p>\n

Before being drafted on Thursday night, Jackson doubled down on his apology. While he will be heading to Memphis, South Carolina is going to follow him no matter where he goes. Last season may have been tough but Jackson will always be a Gamecock.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to apologize again \u2014 I don\u2019t know how much I can stress that \u2014 for, how at times, I looked,\u201d Jackson\u00a0said<\/a>. \u201cHow at times I acted toward the coaches and even my teammates. I want people to know that is not me. That\u2019s big-headed GG. I\u2019m little-headed GG right now.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you for your support and everything. Don\u2019t stop supporting me, no matter what pick it is. Because I am bringing South Carolina on my back, no matter where I go.\u201d<\/p>\n

The post Lamont Paris excited to have first player drafted as head coach<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Not everything went well for South Carolina in Lamont Paris\u2019 first season as head coach…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8799"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8799\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}