Lamont Paris 'leaving the door open' for Collin Murray-Boyles to return to South Carolina
There’s a reason why, when South Carolina officially announced its transfer portal class, there was one spot still open on the roster for next season.
The entire time that head coach Lamont Paris has been putting together an almost entirely new team, with only three players returning, he was constructing the roster with Collin Murray-Boyles in mind.
The odds of Murray-Boyles coming back aren’t likely. The 6-foot-8 forward recently declared for the upcoming NBA Draft, where he hopes to hear his name called and begin his professional career. But that isn’t stopping Paris from still giving his star player the option to come back if he wants to.
“I’m definitely leaving the door open for a possible return,” Paris said. “And I know that is unlikely based on the feedback that we’ve gotten. I think he is a viable first-round draft pick, almost any way you slice it. But some guys want to be selected in a certain area. They want to be in the lottery, maybe.
“So we’re leaving the door open for him to gather all that information. Try to talk with the people that he needs to talk with — get some real feedback, honest feedback — and then make a decision based on that.”
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Paris admitted he wasn’t going to build the roster to where there wouldn’t be a spot for Murray-Boyles. That was never going to be an issue. He kept that in mind from the moment the portal had opened, well before Murray-Boyles officially made his decision.
“There was no chance we were going to build a team in a way that if he decided he wanted to come back, we couldn’t make that happen,” Paris said.
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In the same sense, Paris doesn’t want to influence a decision one way or the other. Murray-Boyles will participate in the NBA Combine in Chicago from May 11-18. During that time, he’ll receive feedback from teams to see where he potentially stands going into the draft a little over a month later.
Murray-Boyles, who averaged 16.8 points and 8.3 rebounds as a sophomore, will have until June 15 to decide if he will return to school or stay in the draft. The draft will take place 10 days later and go from June 25-26.
When Paris spoke to Murray-Boyles and his family at the end of the season, he tried to assure him that whatever he wants to do, he’ll be making the best choice for himself.
“I don’t want to be perceived by him or anyone as trying to discourage him from going to the NBA or encourage him to come back,” Paris said. “That’s not my role. I told him there’s a solar system that’s around him and he’s the sun in that solar system. I am in orbit around him. Not the other way around. It’s the only thing I can do to help him with his decision is what my role is.”
