Struggling? Lofton starts on shoe-string

Teammates not worried after 1-for-8 performance

By Mike Griffith

Originally published 07:00 p.m., November 10, 2007
Updated 07:00 p.m., November 10, 2007

It must not be the shoes, after all.

Ivory white tennis shoes with orange adidas stripes adorned the feet of the Tennessee men's basketball team when they stormed the court for Friday night's 80-63 season-opening win over Temple at Thompson-Boling Arena.

All the Vols' feet, that is, except for those of preseason All-American shooting guard Chris Lofton.

The night before the game, Lofton was spotted wearing the old "Piranhas" model he wore through most of last season.

Lofton said it was a matter of comfort, but one has to believe he also was looking to shake off his slow start through two exhibition games. Lofton hit just 1 of 8 3-point attempts in blowout victories.

Whatever the motive, the plan didn't work: Friday, Lofton was 1-of-8 and 0-for-5 from beyond the 3-point line.

UT coach Bruce Pearl said he's not concerned by Lofton's slow shooting start.

Senior JaJuan Smith said UT fans shouldn't be, either.

"Worry about Chris? Don't stay up late,'' JaJuan Smith said after the seventh-ranked Vols' win over Temple. "Go ahead and go to bed. Come back and he'll be ready.

"He's capable of coming out the next game and putting up 45,'' Smith said. "He will light it up when it's close and you need him, that's C-Lo.''

Point guard Ramar Smith agreed.

"All great players struggle at times, but it won't last,'' Ramar Smith said. "Chris is an All-American.''

Indeed, regardless of the model of shoe he's wearing.

Lofton has switched out of the 2006 Piranhas before, swapping out last season after suffering an ankle injury against South Carolina.

"I thought they were bad luck,'' Lofton said at the time.

After going through three or four models of adidas shoes toward the end of the season, Lofton went back to the Piranhas once more.

Earlier this year, adidas introduced an update version of Piranhas, but Lofton said they hurt his feet, so it was back to the old kicks.

Now, it's just a matter of Lofton returning to his old tricks.

The Vols play host to Arkansas-Monticello at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Thompson-Boling Arena as part of the Legends Classic Tournament, which includes a Nov. 16 home game with Prairie View A&M before concluding at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. There, the Vols play West Virginia on Nov. 23 before meeting either Texas or New Mexico State on Nov. 24.