Kyle Lofton
{{short description|American basketball player}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = Kyle Lofton
| image = Kyle Lofton (cropped).jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Lofton with St. Bonaventure in 2019
| number = 0
| position = Point guard
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 3
| weight_lbs = 188
| league = Basketball Bundesliga
| team = Bamberg Baskets
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1999|5|31}}
| birth_place =
| high_school =
- Union Catholic
(Scotch Plains, New Jersey) - Putnam Science Academy
(Putnam, Connecticut)
| college =
- St. Bonaventure (2018–2022)
- Florida (2022–2023)
| draft_year = 2023
| career_start = 2023
| years1 = 2023–2024
| team1 = Kouvot
| years2 = 2024–
| team2 = Bamberg
| highlights =
- 2× First-team All-Atlantic 10 (2020, 2021)
- Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team (2019)
}}
Kyle K. Lofton (born May 31, 1999) is an American basketball player for Bamberg in the German Basketball Bundesliga. He played college basketball for the Florida Gators and St. Bonaventure Bonnies.
High school career
Raised in Hillside, New Jersey, Lofton attended Union Catholic Regional High School in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, receiving no NCAA Division I scholarship offers.{{cite web |title=Lofton Commits to St. Bonaventure |url=https://newenglandrecruitingreport.com/in-the-news/lofton-commits-to-st.-bonaventure |website=New England Recruiting Report |access-date=January 27, 2021 |date=March 9, 2018}} He played a postgraduate season for Putnam Science Academy in Putnam, Connecticut and helped his team win its first National Prep Championship.{{cite web |last1=Emerman |first1=Danny |title=Kyle Lofton has become St. Bonaventure's silent floor general as a freshman |url=http://dailyorange.com/2018/12/kyle-lofton-become-st-bonaventures-silent-floor-general-freshman/ |website=The Daily Orange |access-date=January 27, 2021 |date=December 29, 2018}}{{cite web |last1=Wolf |first1=Jason |title=For St. Bonaventure's Kyle Lofton, Osun Osunniyi, 'together again' has a nice ring to it |url=https://buffalonews.com/sports/college/for-st-bonaventures-kyle-lofton-osun-osunniyi-together-again-has-a-nice-ring-to-it/article_5e2535fa-4998-58b1-9556-ccbed8db6346.html |website=The Buffalo News |access-date=January 27, 2021 |date=January 15, 2019}} He committed to playing college basketball for St. Bonaventure over offers from UMass, Quinnipiac and Robert Morris.{{cite web |last1=Butler |first1=J. P. |title=Bonnies land point guard from Putnam |url=https://www.oleantimesherald.com/sports/bonnies-land-point-guard-from-putnam/article_7cd38ca6-2bf8-11e8-af43-975968029b59.html |website=Olean Times Herald |access-date=January 27, 2021 |date=March 20, 2018}} He joined the program with his high school teammate Osun Osunniyi.{{cite web |last1=Maggio |first1=Chuck |title=Inside Kyle Lofton's "picky" Putnam recruiting process |url=https://pickinsplinters.com/2019/05/09/inside-kyle-loftons-picky-putnam-recruiting-process/ |website=Pickin' Splinters |access-date=January 27, 2021 |date=May 9, 2019}}
College career
On February 17, 2019, Lofton recorded a freshman season-high 32 points and seven assists in a 79–56 win over George Mason.{{cite web |title=Schmidt Becomes Bona Wins Leader |url=https://www.post-journal.com/sports/local-sports/2019/02/schmidt-becomes-bona-wins-leader/ |website=The Post-Journal |access-date=January 27, 2021 |date=February 18, 2019}} Three days later, he scored 18 points, including a game-winning pull-up jump shot with 10.7 remaining, in a 62–60 victory over La Salle.{{cite web |last1=Butler |first1=J. P. |title=Lofton's jumper lifts Bonnies over La Salle |url=https://www.oleantimesherald.com/sports/lofton-s-jumper-lifts-bonnies-over-la-salle/article_e6d73aa6-359f-11e9-9f4f-7f9a3fc94f73.html |website=Olean Times Herald |access-date=January 27, 2021 |date=February 21, 2019}} As a freshman, he averaged 14.4 points, 3.7 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game, earning Atlantic 10 All-Rookie and All-Tournament honors.{{cite web |last1=Lenzi |first1=Rachel |title=Bona's Kyle Lofton, UB's Summer Hemphill lead preseason Big 4 basketball teams |url=https://buffalonews.com/sports/college/article_ca162ff7-4900-581c-8276-8e36d0d72585.html |website=The Buffalo News |access-date=January 27, 2021 |date=November 4, 2019}} On December 30, Lofton posted a sophomore season-high 32 points, eight assists and five rebounds in an 84–79 loss to Buffalo.{{cite web |title=Bonnies Fall Just Short at Buffalo, 84-79 |url=https://gobonnies.sbu.edu/sports/m-baskbl/2019-20/releases/20191230ws17v4 |website=St. Bonaventure |access-date=January 27, 2021 |date=December 30, 2019}} As a sophomore, he averaged 14.1 points, six assists and 2.6 rebounds per game and was a First Team All-Atlantic 10 selection.{{cite web |title=Lofton named First Team All Atlantic 10 |url=https://www.the-leader.com/sports/20200312/lofton-named-first-team-all-atlantic-10 |website=The Leader |access-date=January 27, 2021 |date=March 12, 2020}} On January 2, 2021, Lofton made a game-winning three-pointer with 2.8 seconds left as part of a 16-point performance in a 69–66 win over Richmond.{{cite web |last1=Rodriguez |first1=Miguel |title=Lofton's three wins it as Bona wins at Richmond |url=https://buffalonews.com/sports/loftons-three-wins-it-as-bona-wins-at-richmond/article_283ce796-4d60-11eb-8558-bf182c635e2b.html |website=The Buffalo News |access-date=January 27, 2021 |date=January 2, 2021}} As a junior, Lofton averaged 14.4 points, 5.5 assists, and 1.4 steals per game.{{cite news |last1=Medcalf |first1=Myron |title=Your guide to six early-season 2021-22 college basketball tournaments |url=https://abc7.com/sports/your-guide-to-six-early-season-2021-22-college-basketball-tournaments/10889682/ |access-date=September 6, 2021 |work=ABC7 |date=July 15, 2021}} He repeated on the First Team All-Atlantic 10.{{cite news |last1=Butler |first1=J.P. |title=‘Bones,’ Lofton a strong subplot in A-10 title rematch |url=https://www.oleantimesherald.com/olean/bones-lofton-a-strong-subplot-in-a-10-title-rematch/article_b3844138-9eb1-578c-9b20-4cac1febb951.html |access-date=September 6, 2021 |work=Olean Times Herald |date=March 13, 2021}} As a senior, Lofton was named to the Third Team All-Atlantic 10.{{cite press release|url=https://atlantic10.com/news/2022/3/8/mens-basketball-brajkovic-named-atlantic-10-player-of-the-year-mckillop-osunniyi-earn-top-honors.aspx|title=Brajkovic Named Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, McKillop, Osunniyi Earn Top Honors|publisher=Atlantic 10 Conference |date=March 8, 2022 |accessdate=March 8, 2022}}
On May 13, 2022, Lofton transferred to Florida as a graduate student.{{cite web |title=Graduate Guard Kyle Lofton Joins Gators|url=https://floridagators.com/news/2022/5/13/mens-basketball-graduate-guard-kyle-lofton-joins-gators.aspx |website=Florida Gators |access-date=May 15, 2022 |date=May 13, 2022}}
Professional career
Loft on went undrafted in the 2023 NBA draft. He began his professional career with Kouvot in Finland.
Career statistics
{{NBA player statistics legend}}
=College=
{{NBA player statistics start}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2018–19
| style="text-align:left;"| St. Bonaventure
| 34 || 34 || 37.4 || .441 || .330 || .838 || 2.5 || 3.7 || 1.4 || .1 || 14.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2019–20
| style="text-align:left;"| St. Bonaventure
| 31 || 31 || 38.4 || .422 || .336 || .806 || 2.6 || 6.0 || 1.4 || .1 || 14.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2020–21
| style="text-align:left;"| St. Bonaventure
| 21 || 21 || 38.4 || .414 || .240 || .813 || 3.5 || 5.5 || 1.4 || .1 || 14.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2021–22
| style="text-align:left;"| St. Bonaventure
| 30 || 30 || 38.5 || .402 || .282 || .820 || 3.6 || 5.9 || 2.0 || .1 || 12.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2022–23
| style="text-align:left;"| Florida
| 31 || 30 || 32.4 || .414 || .288 || .789 || 3.1 || 3.5 || 1.1 || .1 || 8.7
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
| 147 || 146 || 36.9 || .420 || .300 || .815 || 3.0 || 4.8 || 1.5 || .1 || 12.8
{{S-end}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/kyle-lofton/15330 Florida Gators bio]
- [https://gobonnies.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/kyle-lofton/3845 St. Bonaventure Bonnies bio]
{{Brose Bamberg current roster}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lofton, Kyle}}
Category:21st-century American sportsmen
Category:American expatriate basketball people in Finland
Category:American men's basketball players
Category:Bamberg Baskets players
Category:Basketball players from Union County, New Jersey
Category:Florida Gators men's basketball players
Category:People from Hillside, New Jersey