AUBURN — Before his sophomore season, Chris Lofton considered transferring.

The Maysville, Ky., native had committed to Buzz Peterson's program at Tennessee. Peterson was gone after Lofton's freshman season that ended with a 14-17 record. The Volunteers needed a fresh start, so they turned to Milwaukee head coach Bruce Pearl who had just taken his mid-major program to the Sweet 16.

Lofton didn't know much about him, so he had his hesitations.

Then he met him.

"I remember meeting with Bruce, and the first thing he said was, 'The two-guard is a very important part of my offense. We sure want you to do that. We know you'd be really special in this system,'" Lofton said. "I started to watch some of his stuff and learning about it. I realized I needed to stay."

Coming out of high school, Lofton's only high-major offers were from Tennessee and Cincinnati. He wasn't completely un-recruited. Rivals ranked him a 3-star and the No. 146 overall player. But Peterson has been one of the only big-program coaches to call.

In 2004, Peterson gave Lofton more freedom to shoot the 3-ball than most freshman had. Lofton heaved up 200 3-point attempts as a freshman, the fifth-most in the Southeastern Conference. He made 91, a foreshadowing start for the true freshman.

He wondered what his new role under a new coach would be, if he would even have a key role at all.

It all went away after one conversation with Pearl.

Pearl incites that kind of inspiration in his people — but, as historical evidence now proves, shooters especially.

"He always would say to me: just shoot it, Chris," Lofton said. "That's what I loved about it. That's when I was at my best. He gives us confidence to shoot it at any time. He just has confidence. It just means a lot as a player to know you have the freedom to shoot when you want to."

Lofton went on to bump his 3-point attempt figures up to 261, 253 and 307 his last three seasons at Tennessee under Pearl. That was more attempts than any other SEC player during that three-year span. The high volume and high percentage combined to create the most prolific 3-point shooter in Southeastern Conference history with 431 made shots behind the arc.

His meteoric rise from under-recruited two-guard to SEC record-setter hasn't been mimicked since...well, until Pearl helped history repeat itself.

On Saturday against Kansas, Bryce Brown saw red from 3-point range. It was a fitting moment for Brown to rise to solo No. 2 all-time behind Lofton on the SEC's career 3-point makes chart.

The two greatest 3-point shooters in SEC history, linked by a common thread: Pearl.

"He gives all his players confidence, but he really gives all his shooters confidence," Brown said Saturday, learning of his accomplishment for the first time. "Since I’ve been here as a freshman, I don’t know many programs that let freshmen come in and have a green light. I had it. I had it. He told me before I even came here that we get up a lot of shots. We get up a lot of 3s. I’d love to have you part of my program because you’re able to do that. He really didn’t have any limitations on me when I got here."

Brown, like Lofton, didn't receive much high-major attention. Brown, even less than Lofton. He was recruited by the likes of Florida International, Charlotte and Georgia Southern.

When Pearl said a spot was available, Brown didn't hesitate. He knew someone had unexpectedly trusted in him, and he'd return that with a tireless gym routine that would turn into 372 career 3-pointers. In his senior season, Brown made more 3-pointers than any other player from a Power 5 conference. He would need 15 makes per game and a national championship appearance to catch Lofton, so becoming No. 1 isn't likely.

But a good weekend in Kansas City can move him into the top 30 in all-time makes from any conference. Advancing to Minneapolis would give Brown a realistic shot at becoming one of the 25 most successful 3-point shooters in college basketball history.

If the Tigers play enough games, Pearl certainly won't be the one holding Brown back from making more history.

"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out, hey, get Bryce Brown open and then give him the confidence to pull the trigger and shoot the ball," Pearl said.

It's true. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to identify and develop the two greatest 3-point shooters in SEC history.

It takes Bruce Pearl.