Rick Barnes speaks highly of Chris Lofton before jersey retirement

All-time great Tennessee guard Chris Lofton is scheduled to have his jersey retired at Thompson-Boling Arena Saturday during the Vols matchup against Kentucky. Head coach Rick Barnes met with local media ahead of Saturday and discussed Lofton’s jersey retirement.

“We all should be excited for Chris. When you think about it, I’ve never met anyone that can say ill things about Chris. When you come into a situation like we did eight years ago, and you want to build something special,” Barnes said of Lofton. “But you also know you need past players and people involved to help you do that, he embraced us. From the time he came around, one because he loves this university so much.

“The second thing is he loves being in the gym. Our players had a chance up close to see a real professional go at his craft and see what he needs to do. But lay that aside, the kind of person he is and what he stands for, his love for the Lord and the way that he’s real, he’s as real as can be. Then you throw in the fact that he had to fight cancer. He’s such a great person. And it’s more. The way he loves the program. I don’t know of any era that doesn’t love him because of the way he loves this place.”

Lofton is just the fifth Tennessee player to see his number retired, joining Bernard King, Ernie Grunfeld, Allan Houston, and Dale Ellis.

He played for Tennessee from 2004-08 and earned SEC Player of the Year honors in 2007. His 42 percent career three-point percentage (431-of-1,021) stands as the second-best all-time by any Volunteer in history. He also owns the program record for three-pointers made in a single game with nine, and he also owns the team’s top two single-season totals for three-point makes – 118 in 2007-2008 and 114 in 2005-2006.

After the 2006-07 season, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer and kept it quiet until after his senior season. He underwent surgeries and treatment before being declared cancer-free. He’s been playing international basketball since, minus a stint in the NBA’s G League, and currently plays professional basketball in Seoul, South Korea.