Lofton's possible heir-apparent Hopson visits UT

Exit two-time college All-American Chris Lofton.

Enter everybody's high school All-American, Scotty Hopson.

It was a day of comings and goings at Tennessee on Monday, with one of the top basketball recruits in the nation visiting the Knoxville campus the same day Lofton was packing up to leave for a 3-point shootout in San Antonio.

Lofton, who will compete in the college all-star shooting event on Thursday at the Final Four, was named third-team All-America by the Associated Press.

Lofton finished his career with the Vols as the SEC's all-time leading 3-point shooter. His 431 treys rank third in NCAA history.

Lofton, along with fellow seniors JaJuan Smith and Jordan Howell, led the Vols to a school-record 31 wins this season and the program's first outright SEC title in 41 years. The trio's 90 wins also were the highest by any class of Tennessee seniors.

"Chris has been one of the hardest workers in college basketball throughout his career,'' UT coach Bruce Pearl said. "I can't imagine what it's going to be like coaching a Tennessee team without him.''

It might not be as bad as some fear if the Vols come out on top in the fierce recruiting battle taking place for Hopson's services.

Hopson, from Hopkinsville, has established himself as the best shooter in the state of Kentucky, just as Lofton did at Mason County.

But Hopson's 6-foot-5 frame and immense athleticism give him the potential to achieve even more in Pearl's system, which has led the SEC in scoring each of the past three years.

Hopson has been named a McDonald's All-American and is the No. 9-ranked player in the nation according to Rivals.com.

Hopson would likely step into Lofton's shoes at the starting shooting guard position on a UT team that's expected to contend for another SEC title en route to a fourth straight NCAA tournament appearance.

Hopson also is considering Mississippi State, Louisville, Kentucky and Cincinnati.

Pearl said Monday that sophomore forward Tyler Smith, who was named honorable mention All-America, will continue to consider his options for the future.

Smith is widely projected as a late first- to early second-round pick in upcoming NBA draft.

"Tyler wants to come back to Tennessee because he loves his teammates and the way the fans have embraced him,'' Pearl said. "But if he's projected to go in the first 16 picks, I won't let him come back. The financial incentives are such in the first half of the first round that he would need to do what would be in his family's best interests.''

A source close to the situation said he felt it was "50-50'' that Smith would stay for his junior year with plans of improving his game and becoming an NBA lottery pick in the 2009 draft.

The field: Lofton will have plenty of competition in the 3-point shootout, which will take place during ESPN programming 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday.

The other contestants are Drew Neitzel (Michigan State), A.J. Graves (Butler), Shan Foster (Vanderbilt), Derrick Low (Washington State), Jamar Butler (Ohio State), Brian Roberts (Dayton), and Jaycee Carroll (Utah State).

The Associated Press teams:

FIRST TEAM

Michael Beasley, Kansas State, 6-10, 235, freshman, Washington, 26.5 ppg, 12.4 rpg, 53.5 fg pct, 38.9 3-pt fg pct, 1.7 blocks (72 first-place votes, 360 points)

Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina, 6-9, 250, junior, Poplar Bluff, Mo., 23.0 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 54.0 fg pct, 81.7 ft pct (72, 360)

D.J. Augustin, Texas, 6-0, 180, sophomore, New Orleans, 19.8 ppg, 5.7 apg, 37.2 minutes (66, 346)

Kevin Love, UCLA, 6-10, 260, freshman, Lake Oswego, Ore., 17.1 ppg, 10.6 rpg, 55.7 fg pct (52, 318)

Chris Douglas-Roberts, Memphis, 6-7, 200, junior, Detroit, 17.2 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 55.1 fg pct, 44.9 3-pt fg pct (52, 309)

SECOND TEAM

Luke Harangody, Notre Dame, 6-8, 251, sophomore, Schererville, Ind., 20.8 ppg, 10.2 rpg, 51.5 fg pct, 37.5 3-pt fg pct (9, 211)

Shan Foster, Vanderbilt, 6-6, 205, senior, Kenner, La., 20.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 52.6 fg pct, 47.3 3-pt fg pct (7, 159)

D.J. White, Indiana, 6-9, 251, senior, Tuscaloosa, Ala., 17.3 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 60.4 fg pct, 1.7 blocks (2, 146)

Stephen Curry, Davidson, 6-2, 185, sophomore, Charlotte, N.C., 25.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.8 apg, 43.8 3-pt fg pct, 89.8 ft pct, 1.9 steals (4, 117)

Roy Hibbert, Georgetown, 7-2, 278, senior, Adelphi, Md., 13.6 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.9 apg, 60.1 fg pct, 2.3 blocks (1, 86)

THIRD TEAM

Derrick Rose, Memphis, 6-3, 190, freshman, Chicago, 13.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 4.5 apg (4, 85)

Chris Lofton, Tennessee, 6-2, 200, senior, Maysville, Ky., 16.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 39.8 3-pt fg pct, 83.5 ft pct (4, 82)

Darren Collison, UCLA, 6-1, 165, junior, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., 15.2 ppg, 3.9 apg, 50.6 3-pt fg pct, 87.4 ft pct, 1.9 steals (2, 80)

Brook Lopez, Stanford, 7-0, 260, sophomore, Fresno, Calif., 19.2 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2.2 blocks (1, 73)

Eric Gordon, Indiana, 6-4, 215, freshman, Indianapolis, 21.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.5 apg, 84.5 ft pct (4, 72)

HONORABLE MENTION

Joe Alexander, West Virginia; Josh Alexander, Stephen F. Austin; Ryan Anderson, California; Darrell Arthur, Kansas; Jerryd Bayless, Arizona; Marqus Blakely, Vermont; Jon Brockman, Washington; Chase Budinger, Arizona; Jaycee Carroll, Utah State; Mario Chalmers, Kansas.

Lee Cummard, BYU; Scott Cutley, Cal State-Fullerton; Louis Dale, Cornell; Jeremiah Dominguez, Portland State; Wayne Ellington, North Carolina; Adam Emmenecker, Drake; Al Fisher, Kent State; Gary Forbes, Massachusetts; J.R. Giddens, New Mexico; Jamont Gordon, Mississippi State.

Mike Green, Butler; James Harden, Arizona State; Alex Harris, UC Santa Barbara; Andrew Hayles, Alabama State; Richard Hendrix, Alabama; George Hill, IUPUI; Lester Hudson, Tennessee-Martin; Ty Lawson, North Carolina; Courtney Lee, Western Kentucky; Tony Lee, Robert Morris.

Eric Maynor, Virginia Commonwealth; O.J. Mayo, Southern California; Drew Neitzel, Michigan State; DeMarcus Nelson, Duke; David Padgett, Louisville; Jeremy Pargo, Gonzaga; A.J. Price, Connecticut; Arizona Reid, High Point; Tyrese Rice, Boston College; Brandon Rush, Kansas.

Thomas Sanders, Gardner-Webb; Sean Singletary, Virginia; Jamar Smith, Morgan State; Tyler Smith, Tennessee; Greg Sprink, Navy; Jason Thompson, Rider; Sam Young, Pittsburgh.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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