Columbia, S.C. — The South Carolina men’s basketball team was picked to finish dead last in the SEC preseason media poll released Monday, as coach Lamont Paris enters his fifth season.
The Gamecocks finished last and next-to-last in the league the past two seasons, and the roster is basically brand-new for the second year in a row. Paris received a vote of confidence from athletic director Jeremiah Donati last season, his second rough year in a row after a 26-win 2023-24 season.
Florida sits atop the poll after returning four of five starters from a team that earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Texas was picked second, and Florida forward Thomas Haugh was named Preseason Player of the Year.
Paris and players Cam Heide, Kory Mincy and Jakub Necas will represent the Gamecocks at SEC Tipoff on Tuesday.
