EJ Walker is no longer redshirting this season. Lamont Paris explains why

Lamont Paris had been thinking about it for about a month. He even told the active players on the roster, somewhat as a threat due to their play, that if he had to do it, he was going to do it.

Eventually, Paris decided to do it. Nine games in, a new player took the floor for South Carolina, as freshman forward EJ Walker officially burned his redshirt in Saturday’s 82-51 win over Stetson.

This wasn’t some sudden decision that Paris or Walker made. The original plan coming into the season was for Walker to redshirt, which he did for the first seven games. Then, earlier this week, he suited up when the Gamecocks faced Virginia Tech, though he didn’t end up playing.

The change had a lot to do with what Walker was doing in practice that impressed Paris.

“He has a tremendous understanding of what we would like to do. I don’t know if it’s probably a combination of intelligence, combined with intent, very intent listening,” Paris said. “… He’s really intentional about it. Even though he’s in a redshirt situation, and I asked questions, he always knows the answer to what I’m asking. When I say always, he always knows the answer, so he pays attention, even though he wasn’t going to be playing in the games. And so I think that stuff helps him.”

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It’s also been clear that Paris hasn’t been fully satisfied with the team’s frontcourt play so far this year. He’s tried different lineups and combinations of players to get the results, but ultimately, adding Walker to the mix was what he felt would be best.

Clocking in at 6-foot-7, 253 pounds, Walker brings the size and physicality that Paris wants at the forward position. Playing on the varsity team at Lloyd Memorial High School (KY) for five years, he averaged 13.7 points and 8.5 rebounds per game as an all-state, all-conference performer.

“He’s as strong with the ball as anybody else that we have,” Paris said. “He has a good feel for some of the ball screen things, and he’s still getting there. Doing them live versus doing a practice is a little bit different. But he’s done a lot of things over these last few weeks.”

Burning the redshirt was only one layer of this decision. The other is to make sure that it was worth having Walker become an active player. If he’s going to do this, he’s going to have to play.

Walker came off the bench on Saturday and finished with two points and two rebounds in 13 minutes. Paris was adamant about not stuffing him back on the bench after that and instead ensured that he would have his chance to contribute. It’ll now be up to Walker to make the most of it.

“You have to perform, you have to play, you have to earn what you get,” he said. “But I’m going to try to make an opportunity present itself for him most every game, and then at some point, he’ll be playing well, or he won’t be playing well. If he’s playing well, he’ll play more. If he’s not playing well, he’ll play a little bit less at some point.”

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