Tennessee basketball retiring Chris Lofton’s jersey with Rick Barnes as head coach is peak irony

It seemed like a heartwarming moment. Rick Barnes brought Chris Lofton to a Tennessee basketball practice and surprised him. He revealed to Lofton that his No. 5 would be retired, joining the ranks of Bernard King, Ernie Grunfeld, Dale Ellis and Allan Houston.

However, this moment with Barnes and Lofton is as ironic as it gets. That’s because Lofton went up against Barnes’ Texas Longhorns four years in a row, and he made arguably the greatest shot in history to lead the Vols to a comeback victory against them in 2006.

Down 16 in the second half, the Vols fought back to force overtime in that game. Before regulation ended, though, Lofton dropped off Kevin Durant from way out on the court. It gave Tennessee basketball their first lead of the second half.

That remains one of the most memorable shots in UT history, and Lofton had 35 points in that game. However, it’s not the only time he torched Texas. The Vols’ coming-out party under Bruce Pearl was with a blowout win the year before at Texas. In that game, Lofton had 21 points and shot 5-of-8 from three.

To be fair, Barnes bested Lofton twice, as Texas blew out the Vols in Maui in 2004, Buzz Peterson’s final year, and they won in 2007. Those two years in between though, were all because of Lofton, so Barnes was one of the peak players he victimized.

The fact that Lofton’s jersey should be retired requires no explanation. He was a two-time All-American and is the SEC’s all-time leading three-point shooter, leading the No. 2 man, Bryce Brown of the Auburn Tigers, by 49 made three-pointers.

Also, Lofton’s success translated to success by Tennessee basketball. He led the Vols to three straight NCAA Tournaments, two Sweet 16 appearances and their first No. 1 ranking in history in 2008. That year, the Vols also won the SEC regular season championship outright and enjoyed their first 30-plus win season.

Pearl’s final three years with the Vols did have the Elite 8 run in 2010, but overall, they didn’t match those first three years with Lofton at the helm. Very few players were able to accomplish what he accomplished, especially for an undersized guard who wasn’t that quick.

Team and individual success aren’t the only reasons to hail Lofton either. His senior year, when the Vols were pushing for a national championship, he was struck with testicular cancer. He played, but it held him back all season, and he wasn’t himself.

Lofton was willing to take a lesser role, though, as Tyler Smith had joined the team, and Wayne Chism and JaJuan Smith developed. He proved himself to be the ultimate team player that year, and honestly, doing that while not talking about his personal health may have cost him a shot at the NBA in the end.

Still, he deserves every bit of praise he can receive from Tennessee basketball. Seeing Barnes give him the news, though, remains one of the most ironic things to ever happen in program history. At least they can respect each other despite that play.