Chris Lofton: A Tennessee Icon, Immortalized.
#5 gets the recognition he deserves during Tennessee’s tilt against Kentucky on Jan. 14
Tennessee basketball legend Chris Lofton had his #5 jersey retired on Saturday, joining an exclusive club. Dale Ellis, Ernie Grunfeld, Bernard King, and Allan Houston are the only other men whose numbers hang in the rafters of Thompson-Boling Arena.
To say that Lofton is a beloved figure in Knoxville for his actions both on and off the court is an understatement. Voted Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball in 2004, he chose Tennessee after local schools Kentucky and Louisville passed on him. The Maysville native was a two-time consensus All-American, the 2007 SEC Player of the Year, and holds the SEC career record for made three pointers. He is also the fourth-leading scorer in Tennessee history, and his name is a mainstay in the UT record books. But most of the praises that people sing about Chris Lofton have nothing to do with his accomplishments in the orange and white. Instead, his friendly personality and devotion to others are why he is a fan favorite. There are thousands of stories of Lofton stopping for pictures and autographs. Offering kind words of encouragement. Last night on the All Vol Podcast (shameless plug, I know), there were multiple stories of Chris making friends out of perfect strangers. A true man of the people.
For me, though, that’s not where the story begins. Instead, it was the color of the jersey. I was obssessed with the color orange for the longest time. To this day, it is still my favorite color. When my parents first moved into our house 17 years ago, my mom asked me and my sister to pick out paint swatches for our room. Taylor picked shades of pink, her favorite color, among others. Me? Bright, construction orange. Favorite fruit to eat? Orange. Drink? That was chocolate milk, but orange juice was right up there with it. Some of my favorite teams coming up? The Phoenix Suns. I had an orange Amar’e Stoudemire jersey. My local teams, the Chicago Bears and Illinois Fighting Illini, for obvious reasons. You see where I’m going with this. Or at least you think.
You see, I’m not a lifelong Vol fan. Attending the University of Tennessee wasn’t really a dream of mine, like so many of my peers. My dad is a huge of fan of everything Michael Jordan, so naturally I was attracted to North Carolina. For a long time, it was the only thing we had in common. I have to admit that my inner child’s heart was full when Mike Krzyzewski and the Duke Blue Devils lost to the Tar Heels for the final time last March. That said, I remember sitting in the living room, watching college basketball one day. There was a team wearing white and orange jerseys, with the baselines painted orange and white in a checkerboard pattern. Fans dressed in orange from head to toe. This was the first time I’d ever seen it featured as a primary element of the design, so you can imagine how excited I was. I don’t remember who they played, but I remember the guy wearing #5 hitting shot after shot and #4 wearing his headband in a way I’d never seen before. My dad must’ve put some pocket change on the game, because he wasn’t as pleased as I when the orange team won. As you may have guessed, #4 was Wayne Chism. But the star of the show was none other than Chris Lofton. The crowd roared with each shot he made, and the roof on The Orange Place almost came off when the final buzzer sounded.
Later that day, I went on the family desktop, because this was the mid-2000s after all, and hopped on Google. I committed to memory the word written across the front of the jersey: Tennessee. I knew about the state, because I’d been tasked with reading the atlas on road trips to Mississippi in the past. But I never saw the place that was on the TV before that day. My curiosity led me to campus chat rooms and other websites that mentioned The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. I don’t remember declaring that I would end up there one day, but part of me always knew that it would be a gigantic element of my life’s story.
Fast forward 10 years later, and I’m a freshman at the University of Tennessee. The place that seemed like it was another world away was now my home. And the orange that caught my eye on the TV as a kid was now all around me, both on campus and in my closet. As a recreation and sport management major, volunteering to work at athletic events on campus is essential to professional development. I’d handed out programs at a couple football games, but I looked forward to being on the court crew for basketball season. The second that I got the email, I made sure to sign up for as many games as possible.
I will never forget the feeling of walking into Thompson-Boling Arena for the first time. I listened as directions were given to me about what to do that night, but part of me was soaking everything in. I was now standing on the same floor as Chris Lofton, Wayne Chism, and many others that had come before and since. I looked up to the rafters as I saw Candace Parker’s #3 jersey, a reminder of seeing her all the time on ABC7 News as a high school standout at Naperville Central. I also found the name of Pat Summitt, the legendary Lady Vols coach. Thinking about it now, that moment is one of many that still feels surreal to me. Tennessee went on to win a share of the SEC regular season title that year after being picked to finish second to last in the conference. I had the pleasure of sitting courtside and watching Grant Williams, Admiral Schofield, Jordan Bone, and Lamonté Turner. Before long, the Vols went from underdog to contender. And the Orange Place that first connected me to Tennessee was one of the best places to be in all of college basketball.
When UT announced Chris Lofton’s jersey retirement in a surprise video package, the emotions I felt years ago all came back. In the time since I first watched him play, I’d read up on him and come to be a much bigger fan than I was all those years ago. When I discovered that he battled cancer during his senior year, it moved me in a way I cannot explain. He’s the epitome of the Volunteer Spirit, and I was elated to know that he would be acknowledged and commemorated in the proper fashion. Even in the video, when Vols PG Zakai Zeigler offered to change his number immediately, Lofton allowed him to continue wearing #5. One of many examples that speaks to his character, selflessness, and passion for this university.
On Saturday, in the midst of my frustration with the BasketVols’ performance against KENTUCKY of all schools (sigh), I was happy. Happy for Chris Lofton, because he deserved this moment for everything he’d done for UT. I thought about all the special moments I had in college and how his career played a role in it. If I never saw Chris Lofton play in a Tennessee uniform, things would be fundamentally different for me. Rick Barnes would’ve never shook my hand and thanked me for being at the Georgia game when his team clinched the SEC regular season title. I never would have met some of my closest friends. Getting to work in a CBS production truck at Thompson-Boling Arena for a Kentucky game? Not a chance. And I never would have become a first-generation college graduate at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. It sounds crazy to some, maybe even most. But those who get it, get it. Everything unfolded the way it did, because of Chris Lofton, and The Orange Place. I am forever grateful to him for that day and how it changed my life. And once again, my heart was full. Not only the one of my inner child, but also the adult that was watching in 2023, sporting my favorite color.
Though the game didn’t go as planned, the moment that mattered most was perfect. Chris Lofton, flanked by fellow Tennessee legends Candace Parker and Allan Houston, was welcomed home once again by a sold out crowd at TBA. Standing on the hardwood by himself, watching his #5 jersey rise into the rafters. An exceptional player and teammate. A survivor. Salt of the earth. An icon in UT Basketball history, and an inspiration to fans everywhere. The definition of a true Tennessee Volunteer, immortalized forever.