Texas Southern basketball: Zach Lofton transferring
By Doug Winkey
Texas Southern basketball just lost a huge piece for next season. Star guard Zach Lofton will graduate with intent to transfer this spring.
We last visited Texas Southern basketball on the eve of its date with North Carolina in the Big Dance. The biggest news since then has been a report that star Zach Lofton will graduate and transfer for his final season. This is a huge blow to the Tigers as they also lose several key contributors from their postseason run.
Lofton originally hails from St. Paul, Minnesota, and is listed at 6’3″, 180. He led Texas Southern with 16.8 points while also chipping in 3.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists. Before that, he averaged 11.3 points as a freshman at Illinois State. There is no doubt he can score, but he needs to improve on his career 28% mark from deep. Getting into an offense where he isn’t the primary weapon should help create more space and improve his accuracy.
The Tigers will likely turn to some combination of Demontrae Jefferson and K.J. Scott to shoulder the scoring load with others filling in. The program has three open scholarships to try to rebuild their foundation for future seasons.
On the other side, Lofton is possibly one of the better transfer guards on the market. He has the scoring chops to help a competent team and experience playing against the likes of UNC and Arizona. He could have multiple Midwestern programs after him given his geographical roots. A place like Wisconsin or Dayton could be among the best fits for the former Tiger.
Next: Elijah Brown commits to Oregon Ducks
Texas Southern’s big loss is another program’s gain. The Tigers will have to hold off the rest of the SWAC without its best player, while Lofton will find a program for one last run into deep March.