Former Vols: Chris Lofton should have been drafted in the 2008 NBA Draft

The 2008 NBA Draft was filled with a lot of players that didn’t pan out. Hindsight is 20/20, but former Vol Chris Lofton should have been drafted.

Mistakes happen. In fact, they happen all the time. Mistakes are actions that we look back on and realize we were wrong. In the case of the 2008 NBA Draft, it was not drafting Chris Lofton.

At Tennessee, Lofton was flat out amazing. He was underrated coming out of high school as a three-star prospect from Kentucky. So, Lofton came to Tennessee after the University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky didn’t offer him a scholarship.

Big mistakes by those program by the way. Lofton ended up arguably one of the best players in the history of Tennessee basketball. He finished his career scoring 16.6 points a game and shot 42 percent from the three-point line.

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The 2006-07 season brought a Consensus All-America honor, Southeastern Conference Player of the Year award, and he was a Wooden Award finalist.

He followed his impressive junior season with a senior season that displayed another Consensus All-American honor and a Wooden Award finalist.

I know Tennessee fans think Lofton should have made it on an NBA squad. He was great. But, unfortunately, he never got his chance.

However, after examining the 2008 draft class, there is no doubt Lofton should have been drafted. The eighth overall pick that season was Joe Alexander from West Virginia. He only played two seasons in the NBA, and his best season he scored 4.7 points per game.

Ever heard of J.R, Giddens? Yeah, I hadn’t either until writing this article. He was drafted by the Boston Celtics as the 30th pick and only played in 38 games his entire career. He best season came in New York where he played 11 games and scored 4.1 points per game.

Moreover, there were a total of nine players drafted in 2008 that never saw a single minute of NBA action.

There is no doubt that Lofton could have been a successful NBA player. He could have at least stood in a corner and drained three-point shot after shot. At the age of 32, Lofton is still getting it done and should have had a shot at the NBA.