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The selection committee for USA Basketball may think twice the next time it puts together a team for international competition.

Just ask Tennessee men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl, who is still answering questions on why shooting guard Chris Lofton didn’t make the 12-man college team for the Pan American Games last month.

The U.S. returned home without a medal, lost to Uruguay and Panama and finished fifth in the eight-team tournament.

The Americans shot 29 percent from 3-point range and could have used Lofton’s expertise. The rising senior was the Associated Press SEC player of the year after leading the league in scoring (20.8) and 3-pointers per game (3.42). His 313 career 3-pointers rank third in SEC history and second in the UT record books behind Allan Houston (346).

However, Lofton didn’t impress the coaching staff during a three-day workout in Philadelphia.

“First, Chris will tell you he didn’t feel like he played well enough to make that team,” Pearl said Wednesday on the News Sentinel Sports Page radio show. “He felt like he didn’t shoot the ball well enough. If you were going to pick the team based on what you saw that weekend, Chris said he didn’t deserve to make the team.”

While Pearl said he understands the committee was only being fair by basing their selections on the tryout, he didn’t agree with excluding Lofton based on one weekend’s worth of tryouts.

“Personally, if you ask me, I’m not interested in the fairest way,” Pearl said. “I’m interested in the best players and picking the best team. I think you should have some preconceived notion.

“… We constantly hear about how we (USA Basketball) don’t have enough shooters and then we might leave the best shooter in the country here. He might not have had the best weekend shooting the ball, but if you went in with a preconceived notion that he’s one of the best shooters in the country, you take him.

“I don’t make decisions on who plays based on what I see on a weekend. I base those decisions on who I’ve seen over a long period of time.

“This was the fairest way to do it, but I’m not sure it was the best way.”

© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.