5-foot-11 point guard Tariq Lofton has gone from, in his own words, "not playing a lot last year" as a junior at Folsom High to earning a scholarship with the Ashland-based Southern Oregon University program. To his credit, it's a very rare accomplishment to move from intermittent high school court time to joining a four-year college basketball program.
Here's Brandon White, the coach of Lofton's Jaylen Wells Elite AAU squad, on his protégé: "Tariq was a joy to coach. Coming into the spring, I think he felt like he had a lot to prove and he really exceeded our expectations. Tariq sees the floor really well and he finished in the top 10 in assists on the circuit." White added, "He's a really high character kid and has a 4.0 grade point average. His parents were great and super supportive of our program. Tariq's going to do great things at Southern Oregon."
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The Southern Oregon coaching staff first witnessed Lofton at an AAU tournament in Redding, highlighting the importance of participating in AAU play.
NXTPRO hoops scout Camden Rine was impressed with Lofton's play this July during national tournament action, writing "he is a speedster down the court. Reminds me of Tyrese Maxey (76ers) with his quick twitch abilities and change of direction...he made winning plays all night playing at his own pace and controlling the tempo of the game.
Lofton and his family visited SOU the first week of this month and he obviously came away impressed. "I saw it as the best opportunity for me. I liked the coaching staff, the people (on campus) and the campus itself."
What will he be bringing when he arrives for the 2026-27 season? "I'm good at getting my teammates open with kick-out passes and drop-offs and I'm one of the better defenders." He called himself "an all-around player."
Lofton understands and appreciates what is required of someone playing at the point, the most critical position on the court. "I've always wanted to be a point guard. You have to be a leader and I'm vocal on the court." He also noted his unselfish approach saying "I'm not a scoring point," something proliferating in the National Basketball Association.
Southern Oregon's starting point guard will be graduating after this coming season so opportunity will be there for Lofton to earn playing time. "It will be me and another point guard recruit competing."
As for his best basketball moment, it was recent, coming "when we won Section last season."
Lofton participated in multiple sports growing up and that is playing out right now as he decided to go out for football in his last year of high school (he is now attending Casa Roble High). "I'm a slot wide receiver and a kick returner." He has also been involved in the 400, 200, 4x400 relay track events throughout high school.
Honoring his father who played basketball and football at the NAIA level, Lofton cited him as a major influence as "he's coached me a lot." Former Folsom High guard Malik Rose also received credit as a hoops mentor as did Coach White and Coach Brendan Erickson. Being inclusive, Lofton also credited his longtime basketball friends "for keeping me going since we were little."
He is looking to major in electrical engineering.
Lofton is headed to a winning program as the Raiders finished 23-11 overall, 14-8 in conference play in the 2024-25 season
But first comes Lofton's final prep basketball season.