KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Former University of Tennessee men’s basketball star Chris Lofton is a member of the 2024 SEC Men’s Legends Presented by Allstate®, as announced Wednesday afternoon by the league office.
Lofton played at Tennessee from 2004-08, amassing 2,131 points to rank fourth in school history and No. 10 all-time in the SEC. No SEC player this century has scored more points than Lofton.
Across 128 collegiate outings, Lofton made 431 3-pointers to shatter the SEC record. That figure remains top-15 all-time at the Division I level nearly 16 years later.
The 2006-07 SEC Player of the Year, as named by the Associated Press, Lofton collected First Team All-SEC accolades in each of his final three seasons as a Volunteer. He was a three-time All-American, including notching Consensus Second Team All-America status in both 2006-07 and 2007-08.
A 6-foot-2, 200-pound guard, Lofton led the SEC in scoring in 2006-07 (20.8 points per game), in free-throw percentage in 2007-08 (84.2) and in 3-point percentage in 2004-05 (46.5). He also paced the league in made 3-pointers per contest in each of his first three seasons.
Lofton’s 91.7 free-throw percentage in 2005-06 still stands as the fourth-best mark (min. 50 attempts) ever by an SEC player, while his 118 made 3-pointers in 2007-08 place co-sixth and his 114 in 2005-06 sit No. 10.
A member of the 2004-05 SEC All-Freshman Team and the 2006-07 SEC Community Service Team, Lofton won seven SEC Player of the Week awards during his illustrious college career.
The Maysville, Ky., native led Tennessee to a 77-24 record over his final three seasons, from 2005-08. During that time, the Volunteers reached the NCAA Tournament each year and twice made the Sweet 16. They also finished in the AP top 25 each of those three campaigns, with a pair of top-20 positions, including the first top-five final ranking in program history in 2007-08.
Additionally, Lofton guided Tennessee to its first AP No. 1 ranking ever during the 2007-08 campaign, a season during which the team won the SEC regular season title. The Volunteers also claimed the SEC East crown in 2005-06.
Lofton’s No. 5 jersey joined the rafters at Food City Center on Jan. 14, 2023, as he became just the fifth player in program history to have his number or jersey retired.
All 14 SEC Legends will be honored at this year’s SEC Tournament, held March 13-17 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. Each legend will be recognized during halftime of his team’s first game, while the group will be introduced at halftime of Saturday’s first semifinal matchup.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
2024 SEC MEN’S LEGENDS Presented by Allstate®
Alabama – Richard Hendrix, Basketball
Arkansas – Derek Hood, Basketball
Auburn – Cliff Ellis, Basketball
Florida – Taurean Green, Basketball
Georgia – Rashad Wright, Basketball
Kentucky – Orlando “Tubby” Smith, Basketball
LSU – Darrel Mitchell, Basketball
Ole Miss – Dwayne Curtis, Basketball
Mississippi State – Timmy Bowers, Basketball
Missouri – Willie Smith, Basketball
South Carolina – Joe Rhett, Basketball
Tennessee – Chris Lofton, Basketball
Texas A&M – Elston Turner, Basketball
Vanderbilt – Frank Seckar, Basketball
Source: University Of Tennessee
