Testicular Cancer, Chris Lofton's Worst Nightmare

If anyone played attention to the men's college basketball season last year, it was clear who the best shooting guard in America was: Chris Lofton.  It wasn't even close.  This season, however, those same fans witnessed Lofton struggle mightily through the first couple months, especially with his outside jumper.  It led many well-known analysts to dub last year's season as merely a fluke for Lofton, maybe he wasn't really the real deal.

Testicular cancer was the real deal for Lofton.  None of the analysts who criticized Lofton should be to blame, because Lofton left his illness almost a complete secret.  Not even his aunts, uncles, and cousins knew about his issue,  only his parents, coaching staff, and a handful of doctors were informed.  Heck, when Lofton went in for his surgery, his name was not written on the surgery board.  According to his father, however, that's the way Chris lives his life: in privacy.

As is now well-documented, a random drug test after the Long Beach State game in last year's NCAA Tournament, detected a drug in Lofton's system.  Lofton had high levels of beta HCg, which is a common sign for the possibility of cancer.  Yet, somehow Lofton played through his condition, averaging 15.5 points per game and garnering third-team All-American honors.  Knowing what we know now, that is absolutely incredible. 

If I were an All-American voter, looking back and being aware of Lofton's situation, he would almost certainly be a first or second team selection.  His mere ability to compete on the court, when he was receiving radiation treatment off-court is unimaginable.

I just wish Lofton would have told the public earlier about his illness, because I believe that the college basketball nation would have embraced him, rather than seeing it as an excuse for his play.  At the beginning of the year, Lofton was an almost automatic first-team All-American performer, but as the season went on, and his 3-point jumper never in-sync, he was overshadowed by Iowa transfer Tyler Smith.

Lofton took on cancer, and beat it.  He's been the victor many other times in his life, but when he needed it most, he won.

For one of the most resilient performances college basketball has ever seen, Lofton deserves to see his number 5 jersey next to other Tennessee greats Ernie Grunfeld and Allan Houston. 

Lofton has truly made a difference in not only Volunteer basketball, but he has put sports in perspective for us: they are merely sports, not life.