It appears an ankle sprain was the only thing that kept star guard Chris Lofton from entering the NBA draft last month and not returning for his senior season at Tennessee.
Lofton made the revelation for the first time Tuesday during an interview with WKYT television in Lexington, Ky.
“I was gonna go,” Lofton said from his home in Maysville, Ky. “It was just that my ankle, my injury, slowed me down a lot, and I couldn’t work out for any teams. That forced me to come back.”
Lofton severely sprained his ankle against South Carolina on Jan. 20. The ankle injury sidelined him for four games.
So it wasn’t a big secret when Lofton told a media contingent on April 24 that he was staying at UT. Lofton, who led the SEC in scoring at 20.8 points a game and in 3-pointers per game at 3.42, said he knew all along he was coming back.
Stu Jackson, the NBA’s executive vice president of operations, told Lofton that he would most likely be drafted in the middle of the second round, and that he needed to develop better ball-handling and point guard skills.
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Comments » 13
andy112382#209793 writes:
Well certainly nice to know we will have a NBA caliber guard leading our team next season on what sounds like it could be a very magical, once-in-a-lifetime season for the Vols basketball team and fans!
runsorangeblood writes:
I could have gone a long time and admired Lofton for wanting to stay his senior year to help and be a part of the run that is getting ready to happen. Now I know he wanted to leave for the money and forget the team that helped him get to where he is. I will always remember him in a different light! Not many Peytons out there any more. We are blessed to have some but evidently not him! Too bad!
FLVol writes:
Bill....Lofton is still a good guy. There are not many like Peyton Manning. There is only a small percentage of these atheletes that make it to the pros and Lofton has his chance. His situation is completely different than that of Peyton Manning in that his family can't help support him if basketball doesn't work out. Just because he wanted to go pro should not be a reason to think less of him and the team. He has always been a team player and sometimes too much as Bruce Pearl once said. Chris is a class kid and I wish we had more like him year in and year out.
caglecellman#228579 writes:
It would had been a big mistake for Lofton to go pro. It will be hard for him to make a team next year even if he has a great season. He does not have the size and needs to improve his ball handling.
andefromtn#212139 writes:
Lofton is a young man with a good head on his shoulders from what I have seen and you have to admire him for being honest, he could have kept his motives to himself and deceived everyone into thinking something that wasn't 100% true. Give him credit for thinking through his options and making a tough decision. He could have gone ahead chose to be a second round pick, and remember that his hopes and dreams are to play pro ball, yet he had an injured ankle and knew some of his skills needed improving. The decision to put one's dream on hold for a year is a difficult one, plus none of this indicates Chris is unhappy being a Vol. He did not say he hated being at UT.
There is nothing indicating that this young man isn't of the same caliber as Peyton Manning either. Lofton comes from a different family with different needs. I am sure that for whatever reason Chris suits up in orange next season, he will give UT, Coach Pearl and the basketball team his very best, because that is the type of young man he is and that is what maKes Chris very Peyton like.
rbreed5#226150 writes:
I love Peyton to death..but I almost have to believe that if Peyton had been from a middle class family that just gets by week to week or month to month..then he to would have went pro. I love the University of Tennessee and always will..but if you put a few million dollars in my face, I would have a tough time sayin' NO! That's all I'm sayin'.
pistoldca writes:
Clofts,
Please thank your ankle for not getting drafted in the foreign player/Josh McRoberts round of the draft....You got a better draft position waiting for you next year....
johnlg00#206211 writes:
I agree with most of the comments above. I'm glad he's staying for any reason at all! His size requires that he develops, and displays, all his skills if he hopes to rise to the first round. All Vol fans should bear in mind that as Pearl's recruiting continues to improve, we will be in the position of watching increasing numbers of one- and two-year players. That possibility is the price a program pays for recruiting top talent these days. One would hope that such recruits are smart enough to weigh the pros and cons of leaving early in as careful a way as Chris apparently did. For example, if Tyler Smith fills up the stat sheet the way I think he can, we may only have him for one season. I think we know enough about his family situation to guess that he would take the NBA's millions if they were offered, and I would be ashamed of any Vol fan who criticized him if he did.
DooleyNoted writes:
Come on Bill. There aren't many Peytons because there aren't many student-athletes who's parents are millionaires.
winbigvols writes:
Come on Bll, you would leave for a couple hundred thousand, not to mention a couple of million. Who wouldn't, we all would given the chance. We want see you in the same light again, if we ever did. Grow up and get real.
tennesseeandy#208527 writes:
Why would any junior go pro after an expert told them they would not get drafted in the 1st round?
invisiblekid writes:
Most of these young men put in the hard work and effort with an eye torward the pros and I find it hard to fault them for wanting to realize their dreams. One thing the story doesn't make clear is exactly when Lofton had his conversation with Jackson so it may have been a matter of Lofton declaring but not signing with an agent. It really doesn't matter at this point though, the draft is over and Lofton is still a Vol. Hopefully, Lofton can further develop his skills, which can do nothing but help the team, and work his way into that first round money next year.
Ohiovol16 writes:
An ankle sprain doens't keep you from turning pro, wanting to stay at UT does. If he really wanted to go he would have. Not being projected in the first round had more to do with it!
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