Tennessee senior Chris Lofton is one of the best pure shooters in America.

Aug. 30, 2007

By Josh Herwitt

CSTV.com

JOSH HERWITT
Josh is CSTV.com's men's basketball editor and writes a weekly national column.
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        ---   Column Archive   --- M. BASKETBALL 4/8: Chalk One Up For These Jayhawks 4/6: Calipari, Self Ready To Take Final Step 4/4: What More Could You Want? 3/28: Tar Heels Feeling Right At Home 3/22: Gillispie Better Off In College Station? 3/16: Title Hopes Looming Large For Bruins 3/13: Arizona Keeping Tourney Streak Alive For Now 3/6: Holding A Full Deck Of Cards 2/28: A Step Back To Take A Step Forward 2/21: Nothing Comes Easy For Ryan 2/17: Blue Devils Anything But Blue 2/07: Bruins Could Be Hanging No. 12 2/07: January In Review 1/31: Hoyas Keeping Task At Hand 1/24: Finding Themselves 1/20: The Day We Were Waiting For 1/17: Hoosiers Holding Pieces To The Puzzle 1/10: Clemson's Scare Good For Heels 1/06: December In Review 1/03: Flyers Under The Radar 12/27: Win And You Shall Receive 12/20: Beasley's Just Being Beasley 12/13: Decadent and Depraved In Kentucky 12/06: Trojans Hurting Now To Smile Later 12/06: November In Review 11/29: Spotlight Shining Bright On Westwood 11/23: Turgeon's Taking His Time 11/15: Out With The Old, In With The New? 11/12: Don't Sleep On These Guys 11/08: Ducks Are Still Flying High 11/08: UCLA's Showing A Lot Of Love 11/05: Matta's Starting Over With More Youth 11/02: Hibbert's Standing Front and Center 11/01: Weber State Hopes To Dance Again 11/01: Hoyas, Cardinals Are Neck and Neck In Big East 10/30: Chomping At The Bit 10/27: Young Blood Giving Blue Devils New Life 10/26: Sweet Carolina 10/25: Better Than Nothing 10/18: Freshmen Fever 10/16: Hampton, High Point Ahead Of The Game 10/15: Vermont, Yale Climbing The Ladder 10/14: Austin Peay, Kent State Want Another Shot 10/12: On That Next Level 10/11: To The Highest Point 10/10: Roy's Boys Start At No. 1 10/04: Lexington's Buzzing Off The Hardwood 9/27: Leading The Pac 9/20: Everhart's Keeping His Dukes Up 9/13: Williams Just Getting Started 9/6: VMI's Williams Eager To Take Next Step 8/30: Beating Senioritis 8/23: Gearing Up For 2007-08 8/15: Walberg's Changing It Up 8/1: Gonzaga's Pargo Playing Coach 2/24: Bruins Enjoy Sweet Revenge 2/14: Lasme Takes Charge For Minutemen 2/1: St. John's Loses Steam After Halftime 12/2: Gause Provides Punch for Seton Hall Against SMC 11/22: Dynamic Duo Leads UCSB Over Pepperdine 11/18: LMU Shocks New Mexico St. With 0.9 Left 11/17: Gamecocks Spoil USC's Arena Opening 11/16: Mbah a Moute's Night 11/11: LMU Pulls Away Against Oral Roberts, 68-65 11/8: It's Been A Long Time M. LACROSSE 7/25: Yeatman Plays It Laid Back 7/18: For Better Or Worse? 7/6: Marr's Latest First 6/27: Making The Push 6/20: Big Questions Remain For Potential Big East 6/13: Sciubba Savors His Opportunity 6/6: No Excuses 6/4: One More Chance For Glory 5/30: Looking Back at 2007 5/28: Hopkins King For Another Day 5/27: Le Moyne Stuns Mercyhurst For DII Crown 5/27: Salisbury Earns Revenge On Cortland 5/26: Drama Doesn't Get To Duke 5/26: Hopkins Plays Another Day 5/26: Pietramala Feeling Right At Home 5/26: One Last Time 5/24: For Almost All The Marbles 5/18: Queener Likes It His Way 5/17: Still Wearing Their Slippers 5/13: Great Danes Win This Dog Fight 5/12: Plenty To Prove 5/11: Staying Alive 5/9: A Lot Left To Prove 5/8: Hoyas Ready For Next Step 5/7: Left in the Dark 5/5: Resetarits Powers Albany's Title Revenge 5/5: There's Nothing Sweeter Than Perfection 5/3: Seawolves Have No Answer For Thomson 5/3: These Irish Don't Need Any Luck 4/29: D Stands For Danowski...And Duke 4/28: Familiar Foes 4/28: Feeling Devlish 4/25: Turning Orange 4/21: Confidence Builds With Each Win For Hopkins 4/18: Cottle's World Full of Decisions 4/14: Nearing Perfection 4/7: Pouring It On 4/4: Off Their Heels 3/28: Seeing The Other Side 3/21: Albany Breaking New Ground 3/14: Big Things Brewing For Big Red 3/7: Climbing The List of Coaching Greats 3/3: Virginia Starts To Settle In With Face-Off Victory 3/2: Danowski Shows No Mercy For No. 6 Maryland 2/28: Losing Their Grip On The Stick 2/27: These Ten Bears Haven't Been Forgotten 2/16: Like Father, Like Son 2/14: Hofstra Still Full Of Its Own Pride W. LACROSSE 7/11: Lacrosse Migrates South 7/5: It's Home, Sweet Home For Miller 5/7: 'Cats Eyeing Three-Peat 4/11: Barking Softly Is Koch's Way 2/21: Building Programs Is Murphy's Game 2/15: Finding Her Own Key To Success 2/13: Third Time Is Still A Charm For `Cats FOOTBALL 10/8: USC Hangs On Again BASEBALL 1/23: Roemer Hungry To Get Back To Omaha M. WATER POLO 9/4: Cal Clawing For More 11/27: Family Doesn't Always Come First 11/13: March Is Back In Spite of Back 10/16: Top-Ranked USC Tops Cal in SoCal Tournament Final M. SOCCER 8/21: Nyarko Knocking at the Door 8/21: Title Hopes Brewing in Westwood 8/20: Bruins On The Rebound 8/20: Gauchos Go For Two

We're seeing it more and more these days. Every year, the talent gets better and better, and every year, the talent starts at a younger and younger age.

So when the NBA, prior to the 2005-06 season, formed a new collective bargaining agreement that allowed no prospect under the age of 19 to jump directly to the professional ranks, it immediately changed the dynamic of college basketball.

Now as more and more high school prospects are being forced to test their game at the collegiate level before entering the NBA Draft, the one-and-done scenario, for better or worse, will become the latest trend in college basketball months after the NCAA Tournament wraps up.

As we saw with superstar talents Greg Oden, Kevin Durant and Mike Conley Jr.--three of the top four picks in the 2007 NBA Draft--more and more freshmen are coming to college with a polished game and the ability to step in right away and contribute.

Therefore, with fewer and fewer veterans leading the way, being a senior in college basketball these days isn't the trendy choice. For many draft experts, it often means either the player developed late or is not yet ready to make the jump to the NBA.

But while Oden and Durant dominated so many of the national headlines last season, ironically enough, it was a Florida team composed of almost all upperclassmen that captured back-to-back national championships for the first time since Duke did in 1991 and 1992.

It's that kind of veteran play that college coaches will value so much more nowadays, as it's so often the difference between a national championship trophy and a Final Four finish.

With that being said, there still are plenty of big names across the country in college basketball returning for their senior campaigns this upcoming season, starting in the nation's capital.

Roy Hibbert, Center - Georgetown

After testing the NBA Draft waters in June with his teammate Jeff Green, Hibbert is arguably the best senior to return to college basketball this season. While many projected him to be a Top 10 draft choice, the 7-foot-2 Adelphi, Md. native is spending one more season in Washington, D.C. under the direction of John Thompson III. Last season, Hibbert joined Jeff Green to form one of college basketball's more formidable duos, leading the Hoyas to the Final Four while averaging 12.9 points and 6.9 rebounds. With Thompson's Princeton-style offense allowing Hibbert to get plenty of looks down on the block, Georgetown could be well on its way to a second-straight Big East title and another Final Four run.

Chris Lofton, Guard - Tennessee

There's a handful of talented point guards headed back to school this fall for their senior year, but there might not be a better pure shooter in college basketball than Lofton. The Tennessee floor general can stroke it from anywhere on the floor and knows how to take charge of his team in pressure situations. The 2007 SEC Player of the Year stands as Tennessee's all-time three-point leader at 43.8 percent and holds the school record for most threes made in a game, at nine. With two-time national champion Florida having to rebuild with a talented incoming freshman class and Billy Gillispie just settling in at Kentucky, the sharp-shooting All-American, who paced the SEC last season with 20.8 points and 3.42 threes per game, could have the Vols on top of the conference for the first time since the 1999-2000 season.

Joe Crawford, Guard - Kentucky

If 2006-07 was supposed to be a breakout year for Crawford, the 6-foot-5 senior may have only scratched the surface. During a season that saw center Randolph Morris take on much of the scoring load for Kentucky, the Detroit native managed to finish second on the team in scoring at 14 points and even upped his production to 15.5 points in conference play last year. And now with Morris gone after signing a two-year contract with the New York Knicks at the end of last season, Crawford will be relied on more than ever to lead the Wildcats' scoring parade. So while Gillispie will like seeing 6-foot-8 forward Patrick Patterson in Lexington this season, the former Texas A&M coach will need Crawford to lead the way for the younger guys and reestablish Kentucky as a national power.

D.J. White, Forward - Indiana

Kelvin Samson couldn't have been happier to hear midway through last season that Eric Gordon would be joining him in 2007-08, but when the Indiana coach heard that his leading scorer would also be coming back to Bloomington for his senior year, it was just icing on the cake. That's how much of an impact White will have on the Hoosiers this season after tallying team-highs in points (13.8) and rebounds (7.3) as a Second Team All-Big Ten selection. And while his ability to score with his back to the basket will be crucial to Indiana's success in conference play, the 6-foot-9, 251-pound forward from Tuscaloosa, Ala. brings just as much defense to the floor with his shot-blocking prowess -- he ranked second in the conference last season with 2.28 per game -- and ability to alter shots in the lane. With that combination of offense and defense coming from White, there's no telling how far the Hoosiers can play into March.

Drew Neitzel, Point Guard - Michigan State

The spirited floor leader will once again be Tom Izzo's main sparkplug this season, and Neitzel sure showed that throughout his junior campaign after averaging a team-high 18.1 points and 4.3 assists last season. And while Neitzel proved to be a threat from the perimeter at 41.2 percent from three, Izzo will demand even more from his senior point guard. But with some talented recruits in Durrell Summers and Kalin Lucas coming to East Lansing this fall, the 6-foot Grand Rapids, Mich. native won't feel like he has to score the ball every time down the floor. It's that kind of supporting cast that could be the difference between a second-round finish in the NCAA Tournament and a trip to the Final Four for Michigan State fans.

More Seniors To Watch In 2007-08: Brian Butch, C, Wisconsin; Joey Dorsey, F/C, Memphis; Randal Falker, F, Southern Illinois; James Gist, F, Maryland; A.J. Graves, Guard, Butler; Malik Hairston, G, Oregon; Joseph Jones, F/C, Texas A&M; Maarty Leunen, F, Oregon; Derek Low, PG, Washington State; DeMarcus Nelson, G, Duke; Sean Singletary, G, Virginia.