lofton, smith named to portsmouth invitational all-tournament team

Former Tennessee Volunteers Chris Lofton and JaJuan Smith were named to the all-tournament team at the 56^th annual Portsmouth Invitational this past weekend.

Sixty-four of the top college seniors are invited to compete before representatives from every NBA team in the three-day, 12-game tournament at Churchland High School in Portsmouth, Va.

Lofton, a second team All-America selection, ranked second among all players in the tournament by averaging 20.0 points in three games over the weekend. The 6-foot-2 guard from Maysville, Ky., shot 45.7 percent from the field and 39.3 from 3-point range. He led the tournament with 3.67 3-pointers per game.

A second team All-SEC selection, Smith averaged 15.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists and tied for the most steals in the tournament with 2.67 per game. The Cleveland, Tenn., native’s 3.33 3-pointers per game were second only to Lofton. The 6-2 guard ranked in a tie for fifth with 3.33 offensive rebounds over the three games.

Joining Lofton and Smith on the all-tournament team were Josh Duncan (Xavier), Pat Calathes (Saint Joseph’s), Kyle Hines (UNC-Greensboro), Reggie Williams (VMI), Gary Forbes (UMass), Deron Washington (Virginia Tech), Othello Hunter (Ohio State), Jiri Hubalek (Iowa State) and Charron Fisher (Niagara). Ohio State’s Jamar Butler was named the tournament’s most valuable player.

Prince undergoes shoulder surgery

Tennessee basketball athletic trainer Chad Newman reported that sophomore guard J.P. Prince underwent arthroscopic reconstructive surgery to his left shoulder Friday morning at UT Medical Center. The Memphis native will be held out of contact drills for 3-4 months but is expected to make a full recovery by the start of practice in October.

The 6-foot-7 Prince was named the Southeastern Conference’s Sixth Man of the Year in a vote by the league’s coaches after averaging 8.0 points and 3.2 rebounds in 2007-08. He scored a career-high 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting in Tennessee’s win at Xavier and then had 13 points and eight rebounds as the Vols upset top-ranked Memphis.