Five things that made Chris Lofton a Tennessee basketball legend

The wait will finally be over at halftime of Saturday’s Tennessee-Kentucky game. Chris Lofton’s No. 5 jersey will finally be where it belongs, hanging in the rafters at Thompson-Boling Arena after being retired during the halftime ceremony.

It just so happens that Tennessee (14-4, 4-0 SEC) is ranked No. 5 in the Associated Press Top 25 and, in the middle of its fifth conference game of the season, will honor the three-time All-American and Maysville, Ky., native, with Kentucky (10-6, 1-3) in the building.

Here’s a look back at five of the moments that made Lofton legendary during his career with the Vols, from 2004-08:

The Shot

It was two days before Christmas in 2006. Rick Barnes brought his Texas basketball team and five-star freshman Kevin Durant to Thompson-Boling Arena. But Chris Lofton was the best player on the floor. He scored 35 points, going 7-for-16 from the 3-point line, and grabbed 11 rebounds in 38 minutes in the 111-105 overtime win. It was the last three that no Tennessee fan will ever forget. The Vols trailed 87-85 with just over 24 seconds left. The shot clock was a 14 and ticking down. Lofton had the ball on the wing, dribbled over a Wayne Chism screen and suddenly pulled up from nearly 30 feet. All Durant could do was lunge at the shot. It went in — giving Tennessee an 88-87 lead after the Vols trailed by as many as 17 in the second half — and the Vols took care of business in overtime. Lofton finished with his 35 points on just eight field goals, making seven from the 3-point line and going 12-for-13 at the foul line.

The Other Shot

No. 2-seed Tennessee. No. 15 Winthrop. First round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament in Greensboro, N.C. Game tied 61-61. On the clock: 2.9 seconds. Enter Chris Lofton. Dane Bradshaw had the inbound pass, waiting for Lofton to first set a screen, then work around another one. He was open just enough to get the pass as he headed toward the corner. He took one step, his defender blanketing him, and managed to get off a shot falling away deep in the corner. The shot went in. Lofton jumped up and down as the exploded out of the corner. Lofton scored 12 points in the win, going 5-for-14 from the field and 2-for-9 from the 3-point line. After Tennessee attempted its first game winner, roughly 10 seconds earlier, Lofton leaped at the foul line to keep a loose ball from being gathered by Winthrop. Bradshaw corralled it on the other side of halfcourt to save the possession, with Bruce Pearl calling timeout with just enough time left for Lofton to be the hero — again.

The Eruption at Rupp

It was a homecoming for Chris Lofton. A Maysville, Ky., kid who never got the offer from the in-state school. No one at Rupp Arena on February 7, 2006 was going to forget who Lofton was. He scored a then-career high 31 points, going 11-for-18 from the field and 7-for-10 from the 3-point line, to power Tennessee to a 75-67 win in Lexington. It was the first win at Rupp for the Vols since 1999 and only the second since 1979. Lofton was plenty familiar with Rupp Arena, after leading his Mason County High School team to a state championship in 2003 and a return trip to the state title game in 2004. He was named Mr. Basketball in Kentucky as a senior, but was never recruited heavily by Kentucky or Louisville.

the Kentucky Kid put on a show in Rupp

𝗙𝗲𝗯. 𝟳, 𝟮𝟬𝟬𝟲
31 PTS / 7-10 3PT / 7 REB#LoftonLegacy pic.twitter.com/AYZzggfsVF

— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) January 13, 2023

The Diagnosis 

In May 2008, Chris Lofton announced that, in the midst of his three-time All-American career, he had battled testicular cancer during his senior season, after having surgery to remove a tumor in March 2007. After a win over Long Beach State in the NCAA Tournament in 2007, Lofton was picked by the NCAA for a drug test. The results were positive, but what showed up on the test was a tumor marker, according to an ESPN report at the time. Bloodwork and an ultrasound followed and surgery was done in secret just days after the Vols had their season ended by Ohio State. Lofton averaged 15.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 29.8 minutes per game as a senior, starting all 36 games and making a career-high 118 3-pointers all while quietly undergoing cancer treatment.

The Records

Santiago Vescovi passed the century mark in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last March. A three he hit against Longwood was his 100th of the season. He became only the second Tennessee player ever to do it, joining Chris Lofton. First, Lofton did it as a sophomore in 2005-06, when he made 114. Then he made 106 as a junior in 2006-07. Then he made 118 as a senior in 2005-06. He’s still the SEC’s 3-point record holder, making 431 during his All-American career. His closest competition is Auburn’s Bryce Brown, who made 382. Lofton his fourth on Tennessee’s all-time scoring list, with 2,131 points during his four seasons with the Vols. Over 95 career games, he started 91 times, shooting 51.9 percent inside the 3-point line and 42.2 percent on 1,021 3-point attempts.