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Chris Lofton to the rafters: Tennessee retires jersey number of Volunteer basketball great
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Chris Lofton’s No. 5 is hanging in the rafters of Thompson-Boling Arena.
Tennessee held a jersey retirement ceremony at halftime of UT’s game Saturday against Kentucky. Lofton joins Bernard King, Ernie Grunfeld, Allan Houston and Dale Ellis as Tennessee men’s basketball players to have their jersey numbers retired. Houston and Candace Parker were among those on hand for Saturday’s ceremony.
The #LoftonLegacy forever on Rocky Top pic.twitter.com/NEdbVhwqkz
— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) January 14, 2023
To the rafters forever #LoftonLegacy pic.twitter.com/KC5Y5lrzkq
— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) January 14, 2023
The fifth @Vol_Hoops player to have his jersey retired: Chris Lofton ? pic.twitter.com/w4vHZ78Tif
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) January 14, 2023
Lofton played at Tennessee from 2004-08. He’s known as the 3-point king for his SEC record 431 career 3-pointers. He was an AP All-American during his sophomore, junior and senior seasons.
Lofton quietly underwent cancer treatments after a diagnosis following his junior season. As a senior, he started all 36 games and led Tennessee to 31 wins averaging 15.5 points per game, earning a spot on the Wooden All-America Team. Lofton’s battle with cancer did not become public knowledge until after his senior season concluded.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
