FanHouse Chris Lofton

ORLANDO -- Chris Lofton might not make an NBA team, but he sure caught people's attention at the Orlando Pro Summer League.

He can shoot with the best. And nothing fazes him.

Lofton, the former Southeastern Conference Player of the Year (2007) from Tennessee, set an Orlando Pro Summer League record for most 3-pointers made (15 of 25), despite averaging just 16 minutes in reserve for the Boston Celtics.

At 6-2, 200 pounds, Lofton is a too-short shooting guard who is battling to carve a spot in the NBA, showing the kind of determination that marked his senior year in college when he played through radiation treatments following a diagnosis of testicular cancer.

This week, FanHouse is taking an early look at the top teams heading into 2008 with a BlogPoll decided on by our college hoops bloggers. To help with the team capsules, we've brought in some of the top fan bloggers around the internets to give us insights on their teams.

Today, we have enlisted RBK of the BruceBall Blog to break down the Tennessee Volunteers.

The Tennessee Vols are coming off of back-to-back Sweet Sixteen appearances under Coach Bruce Pearl, and last season's 31 wins were tops in the program's history. Tennessee fans were disappointed in the finish, hoping that the 2007-2008 Volunteers would be the first ever to break through to the Elite Eight. It was not meant to be, and this year's Vols appear to be in somewhat of a transition mode after the loss of three senior guards including the SEC's all-time three-point shot leader, Chris Lofton.

Tennessee guard Chris Lofton is revealing publicly for the first time what he learned just after he played in the 2007 Sweet Sixteen: He had testicular cancer.

In an interview with ESPN.com, Lofton reveals that an NCAA drug test during the 2007 Tournament revealed that he could have cancer, and that he learned of the diagnosis after Tennessee's season-ending loss to Ohio State. Six days after playing in that game, he underwent surgery. He spent the off-season recovering, and then played the entire 2007-08 season. Only one teammate knew.

"It's the hardest thing I've ever had to go through, but I know now there's nothing out there I can't overcome," Lofton told ESPN.com. "I wanted to deal with it on my terms because I didn't want it being a distraction for our team. I knew if it came out, everything would change. I didn't want it that way."

Now, 14 months after his initial diagnosis Lofton is completely healthy, and he has his sights set on the NBA.

Each weekday, The Daily W asks about the Who, What, Where, When, or Whys of SEC basketball. Today's question:

Where has Chris Lofton's shot been all year?

That's been the topic du jour on Rocky Top this season. Since arriving in Knoxville, Lofton's been known as a three-point shooter, although his percentage of made threes has dropped off every season since his incredible 46.5% freshman year. That's understandable enough -- teams have been more and more determined to clamp down and not let Lofton beat them single handedly (though he's made lots of shots with a hand in his face over the years, too). But defense has had little to do with it this season. Lofton's been missing all kinds of shots, whether closely guarded or wide open. His three-point percentage has downright plummeted to 36.3%, and on many occasions his teammates are opting to work the ball inside rather than kick out to a wide open Lofton.

Or, at least they have been, but that might be about to change. In Tennessee's first 17 games, Lofton only hit 40% or better three times; he's done it in each of the last two games (totaling 12-23 from behind the line). His overall shooting percentage is up in those two games, too, and he's posted two of his top three point totals for the season. Also, not to be overlooked, Lofton has been perfect from the free-throw line after struggling in a couple of games earlier this month.

Now the question becomes: Will Lofton keep filling it up? Tuesday's game against Alabama gives his a chance to, as the Tide are 239th on Pomeroy's ranking of three-point defense. The true test may come Saturday at Mississippi State against one of the best defensive teams in college basketball. If Lofton can light up The Hump, then look out SEC.

The crowd was standing all game, making a lot of noise for their Musketeers, and when Bruce Pearl picked up a technical foul with just under four minutes to play it looked like Tennessee was coming apart. The players had more composure than their coach, though. They forced four turnovers in those final four minutes and closed with a 13-2 run for an 82-75 win.

Tyler Smith was the standout for the Vols during that run. He scored six of his 12 points, blocked a shot and had a key steal to help the Vols to their biggest win of the season. They wouldn't have been in position to pull it off if not for the great first half turned in by J.P. Prince. With Chris Lofton and the normally deadly Vol three-point shooters shut down, Prince, playing just his third game in orange, kept driving through the perimeter focused Musketeer defense. He had 16 points in the first 20 minutes and his play off the bench will make Tennessee a dangerous team as the season progresses.

The loss is a tough one for Xavier to swallow.