Gamecocks coach Lamont Paris makes first staff hire, and it’s a familiar face
South Carolina basketball great — and former team captain — Carey Rich has joined new head coach Lamont Paris’ staff as a special assistant, the school announced Thursday.
Rich is the first staff hire for Paris, who was hired after five seasons as head coach at Chattanooga. Rich’s official title is special assistant to the head coach, which involves “special projects” as well as alumni relations and community efforts.
For the last seven years, Rich has served as recreation superintendant for Columbia’s parks and recreation department and has extensive ties to the Columbia community as well as the basketball community in the Carolinas. Those ties should be useful for Paris, who comes from a Midwest background.
“I’m very excited to have Carey joining my staff here at South Carolina,” Paris said in the school’s official release on the matter. “He is so connected and well-respected in our community and with basketball in the Palmetto State. This role is something that will evolve over time, but I’m excited to have him hit the ground running. Alumni engagement is something that I’m going to emphasize going forward and I expect Carey to play a very vital part in that.”
Born and raised in Columbia, Rich played three seasons for the Gamecocks from 1993-95. He scored 784 career points and tallied 340 assists in 79 career games. Rich ranks sixth all-time in Carolina history with 4.30 assists per game. He served as team captain his final two seasons.
“Everything happens for a reason, and I’m deeply honored the time has come for me to return to my alma mater with the opportunity to assist coach Paris as he assumes this new leadership role of the program,” Rich said in USC’s release. “My heart and soul will be in this assignment. I’m humbled and ecstatic about this journey and this next phase of basketball at the University of South Carolina.”
Rich has worn many hats in the Columbia community, from being one of the co-founders of the SC Pro-AM to contributing to 107.5 The Game. Talking with the radio station Thursday afternoon, Rich said all of his energy is going toward his new role with the South Carolina basketball team and he thanked Paris for the opportunity.
As he described the role on 107.5, Rich said part of his goal in community-building is to help make South Carolina an attractive destination for the state’s top recruits.
“I always sat back and wondered how South Carolina as a program can get in the mix, can be a variable in the equation, so that this program becomes a magnet for some of the top prospects,” Rich said. “Are you going to get every last one of them? Absolutely not. And I don’t think any national program, even the blue bloods, don’t get all of them. But certainly you got to be in position to get your fair share.
“It’s just been an ongoing issue with the best player bypassing South Carolina, and how do we get that to change? I don’t know. But I’m looking forward to helping come up with the plan so that we do get that changed.”
This story was originally published April 7, 2022 at 4:55 PM with the headline "Gamecocks coach Lamont Paris makes first staff hire, and it’s a familiar face."
