South Carolina basketball coach Lamont Paris explains process of removing "the training wheels" for Cam Scott, Jordan Butler
Last week, South Carolina basketball coach Lamont Paris spoke to the media after his team’s second week of summer practice. He touched on several topics, including the continued development of guard Cam Scott and post player Jordan Butler.
When asked about the younger two-thirds of South Carolina’s returning trio of Scott, Butler, and sixth-year senior wing Myles Stute, Paris said, “These are two guys that are still learning how to impact a basketball game positively at this level. You know, everyone learns at a different rate. You can’t force the learning to happen any faster.”
Both Scott and Butler played inconsistent roles on the 2024-2025 Gamecocks. Scott, a Lexington High School product, former top-100 prospect, and four-star recruit in the class of 2024, did not have the year he had hoped after flipping from the Texas Longhorns to the hometown team. Butler, another former four-star and a Greenville native, spent a year at Missouri before transferring back home to the Palmetto State. He had some ups and downs but played with much more comfort and effectiveness late in the year.
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Paris, though, understands that his team will have to get a little more from the duo this season. He likened their next step to removing “training wheels” from a child’s bicycle.
Said the fourth-year USC headman, “You know, when the training wheels came off when I was a little guy, I’m sure my parents probably thought it would happen a lot earlier. It probably took me a long time to get the training wheels to come off. But you can’t make it happen because you try to force it,” he explained.
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Paris continued, “So, just allowing these guys to be in situations, to learn and to learn what competing looks like, and to learn what defending at this level looks like for a team that’s going to win a lot of games versus, I think there’s in this culture, there’s a lot of ‘okay, it’s my turn now, because that guy graduated, and regardless of what the outcome, of what our team ends up doing, whether we win or we lose, it’s my turn to be the guy that now plays those 25 minutes.'”
Paris said that Scott and Butler have to move into the “flipping the switch” stage of their development. The first step in making that happen is personal improvement, something Paris has noticed this offseason. “So, [they are] just learning. I think they’re just learning and trying to improve on their individual skills, and learning what really competing at this level or a winning team really looks like.”
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During his true freshman campaign, Scott averaged 2.5 points on 27.8% shooting from the field and 17.8% shooting from outside. He also averaged 1.3 rebounds per game. Butler, as a true sophomore, averaged 1.8 points and 0.9 rebounds per game. After a tough start to the year, he shot just over 30% from the 3-point line.
Virtually no role for this season is 100% decided for South Carolina basketball. However, Scott and Butler will have every opportunity to compete for roles this preseason as they look to grow into important pieces for this year’s version of the Gamecocks.
