"the best worst team ever"...wow, if they were trying to be funny, it would be hilarious. That they are being serious only makes it sad and embarrassing.
So this is a real take on our MBB season...
- Thread starter 18IsTheMan
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"the best worst team ever"...wow, if they were trying to be funny, it would be hilarious. That they are being serious only makes it sad and embarrassing.
I would buy a t-shirt that said "best worst team ever" on the front and "he needs more time" on the back.
Or, "12-20, they fought every game" on the front and "he needs more time" on the back.
That Barstool post thing is the epitome of embracing mediocrity.
I mean they could have just quit half way through the season and been a total embarrassing **** show.
On the one hand Paris gets credit for keeping a terrible team engaged all season long.
On the other hand, he's the one who assembled the terrible team. Should he not get credit for that?
This is where social media is ridiculous. This is something we all probably understand what he means and even agree to some extent. But most realize how absurd it is to actually verbalize it.
In a season like this, you just put your head down, shake it, admit we suck, but remind everyone we did beat Clemson.
In a season like this, you just put your head down, shake it, admit we suck, but remind everyone we did beat Clemson.
Jay Bilas said something similar at the end of the Arkansas game. Said the Gamecocks may be the best last place team ever. More a testament to the strength of the conference than anything the team has done.
This very likely is the best worst team ever. The list of close losses to really good teams is pretty absurd.
That's not much to hang a hat on though.
Let's hope that next year evens things out in these close games.
What would you consider a reasonable, expected record for single-digit losses? We had 7 losses by single digits; 9 by double digits. Let's say we go 4-3 in close games, that puts us at 6-12, which is still a crappy season that only looks palatable compared to 2-16.
I guess there's also the admission that we cannot be expected to be competitive in a deep conference, which is a different discussion.
6-12 is Oklahoma territory, which the last time I looked, bubble watch. The loss to North Florida out of the gate was a killer.
"best worst team ever"
Sure sounds like slogan that our fan base would come up with , LOL
Sure sounds like slogan that our fan base would come up with , LOL
We can polish a turd like nobody else can.
Is there a trophy for best worst team ever?
Like @treyno2722 mentioned, Oklahoma is 6-12 and in the "last four in" category on The Athletic's bubble watch. Texas is also 6-12 and is in the "last four out" category.
Normally 6-12 would be a crappy season, but if you get in the tournament it's all of a sudden not so crappy.
By the way, I'm counting 9 single-digit conference losses. Breaking down the single digit losses further, three of those were by one possession. Three more were by 4 points.
And please don't take this wrong, I'm not trying to polish a turd. This was a terrible basketball season and should put Lamont Paris firmly on the hot seat in 2025/26.
Have to wonder would Stute have made enough of a difference in those.
Were we a perennial tournament team I’d say Lamont was on a hot seat. We’re not, and neither will he be. Sometimes you have to let the adults adult.
If there's a similar season next year and Paris is retained it would be really difficult to say that South Carolina takes MBB seriously.
So what. Jay Bilas throws out a conciliatory bone, and some are feeling good about that ?
Paris has to work with the budget he’s given. Texas and Texas A&M are on as I type this; they get to work with a different sized budget. You guys rattling the sabres and gnashing your teeth are demanding that which neither Paris nor pretty much anyone else right now can be expected to consistently deliver.
Mississippi State is going back to the tournament...again. They have a 3rd year coach within less money to spend.
If he loses bad again next year he needs to go.
If it's unreasonable to expect a coach to deliver better than 2-16 then we might as well shut the program down.
Let's not forget, he DID go 4-14 his first season. It's not like every season has been historically bad. Some have just been garden variety awful.
Tru dat; we need someone like Frank Martin in here.
My friend, I’m 71 years old. I sat in the stands as a high school kid watching the four sophs and a senior talked about on here a few days ago. What’s unreasonable is fans who demand winning seasons here, at South Carolina, without some growing pains, particularly in today’s nil landscape, or to believe there is a diamond in the rough out there somewhere that will keep us dancing every year. We have a tough row to hoe, and not just due to money. I’ve seen enough of the Paris program to warrant at least a couple more years.
If that's the appropriate moniker, so be it. I'd rather be a fan who is disappointed in abject failure than a fan who celebrates it.
Maybe you should get one that says "South Carolina Basketball" on the front and "Embrace The Suck!!" on the back.
There's a difference in having a bad season and having one of the worst seasons in school history.
I'm not saying Paris needs to be fired today. I'm saying Paris needs to be on the hot seat next season. If he puts together a similar season like this one, what in the world would justify keeping him for a fifth season?
If 3 of 4 seasons are losing ones (in spectacular fashion), why would anyone want to give him a fifth try?
But, they look good and play hard while losing. There are a lot of people who wear the garnet goggles and drink the garnet Kool-aid who refuse to see anything less that elite in Carolina athletics. As long as those people keep sending in the money, the AD sees no reason to change anything.
Yes, we played hard and almost beat a few of the better conference teams. But, we laid a lot of eggs! We got blown out too many times. LSU made us look bad. Paris has to be on the hot seat. I’m pulling for him and I believe he is a good coach. It’s time to show it. I certainly don’t require an NCAA tournament bid next year, but the team needs to show a good bit of improvement.
Once the players started being paid they had an expectation of results put on them. In the days of players playing for the love of the game and love of the school fans could overlook bad seasons to a degree. Now, players are paid professionals who are rightly expected to deliver.
Coaches aren't like small HS coaches who teach PE and Health and get paid a small stipend to be the coach. Coaches are paid millions of dollars to win. This is one of the main reasons the whole "he really wants to be here" mantra about Beamer or any other coach is asinine. There may be a scant handful of coaches who stay at a school because they really love that school and want to be there but they also have to be winning if they want to stay.
Exactly. Paris is making $4 million/yr. That puts him in the top 20ish range nationally.
The "good bit of improvement" thing is where I see a problem. After a 12-20 season with a 2-16 conference record, almost any improvement will appear to be a "good bit of improvement". If Paris goes 17-15 with a 6-12 conference record next year he will have had a "good bit of improvement" in a statistical sense but still will not have had a good season. A lot of fans will point to a season like that and say "see, Paris is turning it around, he needs more time". The reality will be, he will be finishing his fourth season with only one season being an actual good season.
I want to see the team compete for a tournament spot next season.
Some of the "good bit of improvement" remains to be seen. We have no idea what the roster looks like. I think there's definitely a path where a 6-12 conference record could raise optimism for the future. There's also a path where 6-12 looks like garbage.