We'd been hearing how Chris Lofton spent his summer vacation. Getting quicker, getting stronger, taking it to the rim.

We had been wondering, though, if it had been such a swell idea.

Charging fouls, turnovers, missing some open looks that are usually money.

"Yeah,'' Lofton said Wednesday night after dumping a career-high 34 points in a 76-58 thumping of Memphis, "I was just trying to go to the hole. I forgot what they gave me a scholarship for - that's to shoot. Everybody knows that.

"So coach sat me down and talked to me and told me to go back to the old way.''

Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl knew Lofton needed to become a more complete player, something more than a 3-point threat. He was all for Lofton's summer devotion to things other than drilling jump shots.

But then, as Lofton said, Pearl got to the point where he had to step in:

"Gosh, stop dribbling it, Chris, and shoot it.''

Pearl got it both ways against Memphis. Lofton shot threes and he took it to the rim.

Poor Memphis happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The wrong place was Thompson-Boling Arena with a crowd of 19,134. The wrong time was when ESPN2 pointed their cameras at Lofton.

"An interesting stat you guys could look up is his points per game on nationally televised games,'' said teammate Dane Bradshaw.

"Because the way he steps up to the stage is unbelievable. Kentucky, Memphis, Florida, all those other games on ESPN, he comes to play. Just give him the ball and let him go to work.''

Lofton carried his team in the first half. He rescued it in the second.

In the first half, Lofton made nine of his 11 shots. Everyone else combined on 7-of-21.

He made long shots. Then he made longer shots.

He made a mid-range fall-away shot.

The new wrinkle was the driving shots, the fruit of his summer labors.

Lofton has scored on the drive before, but on a here-and-there basis.

He's not the quickest guy. He doesn't have flubber on his shoes. But he's a master of body control in the air and always plays the angles off the glass just right.

Against Memphis, the drive was a major weapon in his arsenal.

The first one was so pretty he even got a couple of chest-bumps when he headed to the bench.

Then he did it again. And again. And again.

After his fourth trip to the basket, the Tigers didn't know what to do with him.

And he knew this, of course. So he gave them a quick head-dip, pulled up and buried one last three before halftime to make it 42-20.

All the summer work paid off in one glorious half. Lofton was quicker. He was tougher. He made Memphis pay.

"He's just blessed,'' said Bradshaw. "He just has a natural sense of how to get the ball in the hoop.

"You can get people down there but not everybody can finish like that.

"A six-one, slow kid from Maysville, he can do it better than anybody.''

At the half, it didn't seem possible the Vols could blow a 21-point lead in the final 20 minutes.

Seven minutes into the second half, it seemed, well, possible.

The Vols hit only one of their first 11 attempts and Memphis had it down to 47-35.

So Lofton hit a three. Then he flashed into the lane, stole a rebound, drew the fourth foul on Memphis center Joey Dorsey and hit two free throws.

Next trip, he hit a ridiculously long three to make it 55-38, falling back almost into a friendly lap on Millionaire's Row.

Memphis was done.

"That was probably a bad shot,'' Lofton said, "but it felt good so I let it go.''

With Lofton, there's really no such thing as a bad shot, way back or in close.

But nobody wants him to forget why he got his scholarship.

Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276 or strange2@knews.com.