Lamont Paris experimenting with South Carolina team still finding itself

Entering the 2025-26 season, many people, including head coach Lamont Paris, expected South Carolina to play a small-ball, guard-heavy rotation throughout the season. So far through its opening nine games, that looked to be the case.

However, in their most recent game on Dec. 6 against Stetson, Paris and the Gamecocks went with a two-big starting lineup for the first time this season.

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Getting “bigger” in lineups is something that has recently grown among teams in College Basketball. According to KenPom, the sport is on pace to break the record set last season for average height in lineups.

For the Gamecocks, the change came after South Carolina, which shoots almost half its shots from the perimeter, played its fifth straight game shooting under 30 percent from beyond the arc against Virginia Tech. While the shots have not been bad looks, before the Stetson game, they were not falling.

Heading into the holiday break, Paris wanted to experiment with a lineup for a team that is still figuring it out.

“I mean, I mentioned this once before. We’re still trying to figure it out. Consistency is the key to that. Consistency is the key to establishing, okay, this is my role,” Paris said after the win over Stetson.

With the Gamecocks’ struggles from the perimeter, the team has needed to turn to inside scoring more. According to CBB Analytics, South Carolina averages around 16 field goal attempts at the rim per game, making 11.

The turn led to a needed rise in production from their seven-footers, Jordan Butler and Christ Essandoko. Both players, over the last three games, have seen their highest usage of the season. Butler reached a usage rate above 30 in two of South Carolina’s last three games, according to Bart Torvik.

Essandoko, on the other hand, has seen usage rates of 16, 23 and 16 over the same stretch. Additionally, the French-born forward achieved back-to-back games with a positive plus-minus in the box score against Virginia Tech and Stetson. Previously, his only game with a positive BPM came in a 79-77 loss to Northwestern.

Paris believes that once Essandoko can become the most consistent he can be, his team will finally have found its footing.

The skillset of South Carolina’s seven-footers also allows Paris to run two bigs in the starting lineup without overcrowding the paint.

“For any of the shortcomings that you might think with JB and physicality, he’s still seven feet,” Paris said Thursday during Carolina Calls. “I think in certain situations, his length is extremely effective … Trying to get some level of consistency out of him … I do like the lineup to go that way, to start with some size and then make moves from there.”

South Carolina’s lineup of Johnson, Knox, Sharavjamts, Essandoko, and Butler has played 12 possessions together, according to CBB Analytics. The group has an offensive rating of 111 and a defensive rating of 102. Throughout the season, when on the floor together, Essandoko and Butler carry a plus/minus of +20.

The Gamecocks put together their best three-point shooting game of the season against Stetson. Paris hopes the team can carry that momentum going forward.

While experiments continue, some positions remain unchanged for some players for the Gamecocks. Seniors Kobe Knox, Meechie Johnson, and Mike Sharavjamts have started every game so far this season.

Paris said that the unchanged spots in the rotation are an indication of their consistency, something he keeps note of relative to their teammates.

“We’ve got so many moving parts and so many people that have not been consistent yet that I think we’re going to continue see a lot of different starting lineups,” Paris said. “… As far as our power forwards are concerned, there’s a lot of different directions.”

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