CBB Coaching Carousel: SEC School Awards Extension to HC, Changing Market

Another day and another turn of the college basketball coaching carousel. On Thursday, South Carolina agreed to a contract extension with the SEC Coach of the Year Lamont Paris, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Paris’ new deal will extend him through the 2029-30 season, paying him an average of more than $4 million annually. After having to rebuild the program in his first year on the job, Paris has the Gamecocks ranked No. 15 nationally and holding a 25-6 record. Paris was named the South Carolina program’s 33rd head coach and first African American to hold the role in May of 2022.

Sources: South Carolina has agreed to a contract extension with SEC Coach of the Year Lamont Paris. The deal will extend him through the 2029-30 season and average more than $4 million annually, pending board approval that’s set for tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/1NSGITHjPi

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) March 14, 2024

Prior to being hired by South Carolina, Paris led the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to an 87-72 overall record (.547), which was highlighted by  a 65-29 mark in his last three seasons.

How does this news impact WVU’s search?

Well, Paris was not viewed as an option for West Virginia, but was in rumors about being a candidate at Ohio State. In the chaos of the coaching carousel, one program losing a chance at a candidate, a school hiring someone or even just a coach receiving an extension, like in the case of Paris and Chris Beard with Ole Miss, can change the market overall.

Soon after the WVU basketball program announced the official start to West Virginia’s coaching search, one high profile name can be crossed off anyone’s list as the college basketball coaching carousel continues.

Chris Beard and Ole Miss have agreed on a contract extension to continue the Rebels’ upward trajectory. Beard led Ole Miss to the school’s first 20-win season in five years this season.

The controversy hiring Beard would have generated made it unlikely WVU would bring him aboard, especially after the drama that led to the end of Hall of Famer Bob Huggins’ tenure. However, Beard’s extension at Ole Miss now means he’s no longer an option to even discuss.

The news of Beard staying at Ole Miss came a day after a veteran reporter publicized what he’s hearing about the Louisville job, which was then followed by reports the Cardinals are firing Kenny Payne.

Late Monday night, Eric Crawford of WDRB News in Louisville offered what he’s been hearing in relation to one of those other programs West Virginia will be completing with while on the hunt for a coach. According to Crawford, one of the longest tenured reporters on the Louisville beat, his sources are telling him coaches like Scott Drew, Dusty May, Josh Schertz and even a coach WVU fans are very familiar with from his days at Pitt and now in the Big 12 at TCU – Jamie Dixon.

WV Sports Now created a list of Power-5 jobs that are opened and could compete with WVU for other coaches. This list will be updated throughout the offseason.

**note: this list incorporates the 2024 conference realignment