Elijah Strong joined South Carolina’s basketball team in April after spending three seasons at Boston College. The forward’s time in the ACC exposed Strong to high-level basketball in college.
It also exposed Strong to South Carolina head coach Lamont Paris’ coaching from the opposing side.
Strong faced off against Paris’ Gamecocks during the 2024-25 season. In a game where South Carolina left Boston, MA, with a 73-51 win, Strong recorded 5 points, including five rebounds and two assists. The game went so well for the Gamecocks that Strong watched it over and over again in the locker room.
“After that game, I watched that game in my compression shirt right in the locker room like five times,” Strong told GamecockCentral. “Fully. I didn’t leave the locker room until 1 a.m., and I was really wondering how they beat us. He’s a mastermind. Like, he had an answer for everything we threw at him.”
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The game partially played a factor in Strong’s decision to come to South Carolina after entering the transfer portal.
“I felt clueless during that game, and looking back at it, I’m like, okay, this is (how they won),” Strong said. “And being here right now, I was like, ‘Ok, I see why they did so good versus us.’”
The December game also seemingly put Strong on Paris’ radar. Upon entering the portal, that’s when conversations began about joining South Carolina.
“He was like, ‘We can help you.’ You have no idea how good you can be if you come play for me,” Strong said. “And I’m already starting to feel that two months into playing for him. He’s already developed me into such a better player than what I did leaving the ACC. That’s something you can’t ask for more in life.”
Strong said he uses basketball not just to play the sport, but for the development of himself as a person.
“You can put the ball in the net, but how are you in life? And that’s what Coach Paris also emphasizes a lot,” Strong said. “The ball will end up stopping bouncing, so just developing life skills, like having responsibilities. Can you wake up, get yourself breakfast, before you go to work, even though work right now is going to lift weights? Can you be on time for film? That’s being on time for a business meeting in my eyes.”
Another significant factor in Strong’s decision to attend South Carolina was its proximity to his hometown of Charlotte, NC. As a high school player for Myers Park, Strong helped lead the Mustangs to a 4A State Championship, where he was named Most Outstanding Player.
“Growing up in Charlotte, you hear about the UNCs, you hear about the Dukes, and you don’t really talk about South Carolina,” Strong said. “But after their recent success with Lamont as their head coach, it was an easy transition from ‘Ok, I grew up in Charlotte, now I can come play basketball in Columbia.’ And it just all made sense to me.”
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