Shane Beamer on MBB's Top 25 ranking: 'I love it'
South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer was no different than the rest of Gamecock Nation on Monday afternoon when he celebrated the men’s basketball team cracking the Top 25 in the AP Poll for the first time since 2017.
“I love it. Lamont’s awesome, and I’m happy for him because of the kind of person he is and how supportive he is of me, and vice versa,” Beamer told GamecockCentral. “I love it because he’s a football guy. He’ll come to practice. He loves talking football as well. I was over at his facility last week. He’s got, like, a pair of shoulder pads in the practice facility. I guess maybe he’ll wear it one day because he’s trying to instill some toughness in him at practice. He’s freaking awesome. And willing to help football in any way, just like I’m willing to help basketball in any way.”
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Beamer is often spotted around campus supporting the other South Carolina athletic teams and was courtside for the Gamecocks’ big win over Kentucky and then back in the building for the following win over Missouri when he introduced the football newcomers at halftime.
Part of Beamer’s desire to support the other programs is tied to the relationships he’s built with the other coaches but he’s also a big believer that momentum can carry over between sports.
“When your sports are rolling and being successful, it helps everyone,” he continued. “When we’re winning football games and Williams-Brice Stadium is rocking like it is, it helps all the sports. And when Colonial Life Arena and Dawn (Staley) and Lamont are rolling, it helps all the sports. I mean, baseball’s got a packed house over there, and we can take a kid to a baseball game in the springtime. It helps everyone. You know, so happy for Lamont.”
[Win two tickets to the South Carolina-Ole Miss men’s basketball game]
“And that environment, two Saturdays ago, we had a bunch of recruits here and introduced our newcomers, transfers, and freshmen. That was awesome,” he added. “And recruits are still talking about that as well, along with our current team. I mean, I had a freshman over to my house last night, and they were talking about it, just the basketball team and, you know, how much fun it is and things like that.”
Paris and the Gamecocks are currently 19-3 overall with a 7-2 record in SEC play.
South Carolina debuted at No. 15 in the AP Poll and No. 20 in the Coaches Poll Monday.
The Gamecocks host Ole Miss at 6:30 on Tuesday night.
