Bossi breaks down Mitch Lightfoot

Late on Saturday afternoon, three-star power forward Mitch Lightfoot from Gilbert (AZ) Christian High School verbally committed to Kansas.

With family and friends in attendance, Mitch Lightfoot, the 6-foot-8, 210-pound power forward from Gilbert (AZ) Christian High school, verbally committed to Bill Self and the University of Kansas.

Lightfoot, who originally committed to New Mexico, became the first player from the 2016 class to commit to Kansas. In all, Lightfoot officially visited Stanford (5/28), Utah (9/3), Kansas (9/18), St. John's (10/2) and Arizona (10/10) before announcing for Kansas on Saturday afternoon.

Jayhawk Slant caught up with Rivals.com National Basketball Recruiting Analyst Eric Bossi to get a closer look at Mitch Lightfoot.

"Absolutely, its important," said Eric Bossi when talking about Mitch Lightfoot and his decision to attend Kansas. "Of course, you really want to get something going. It's not like this is a guy they didn't want. Mitch is a player the staff went in and saw last spring, and decided they wanted him right on the spot.

"People have kind of thought of Mitch as an afterthought, but Kansas has been recruiting this guy hard for a long time now," he added.

Lightfoot, who currently checks in as the No. 117 ranked player in the 2016 class, averaged 17.9 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 4.8 blocks per game during his junior season at Gilbert (AZ) Christian High School. Not long after he decided to re-open his recruitment, a number of big-time schools, including Kansas, Arizona, Arizona State, California, Creighton, St. John's, Stanford, Utah and others came calling.

When talking to Jayhawk Slant, Bossi talked about what stands out about Lighfoot's game.

"I think he's an elite intangibles guy," said Bossi. "His motor, his athleticism and just how hard he plays and the enthusiasm he plays with -- I think all of that stuff helps him out early. Mitch has ability, too. He's not just a guy that likes to hustle. He's going to be able to shoot with some range, before it's all said and done.

"He's an active rebounder and a pretty smart defender," he added. "He just needs to get stronger and adjust to the level of play he'll be facing at Kansas."

When breaking down Lightfoot's game, is there one area that will allow him to get on the court early on in his career? Currently, is there one aspect of his game that stands out to Bossi?

"I think it's going to be his energy and activity level," said Bossi. "He is one of those guys that you love him as a teammate, but you hate to play against guys like him. Likewise, he's one of those guys -- his fan base will love and every other fan base will hate and wonder and feel like he's been there for 27 years -- by the time he's done.

"He's just one of those guys that can get under peoples skin," he added. "You love it when that guy is on your team, but you hate him when you go against him. The biggest thing Mitch needs to work on is getting stronger and putting on weight."

Like most prospects that sign on to play college basketball at the Division-I level, especially at the highest level offered, Lightfoot wants nothing more than to provide an impact early on in his career. Not surprisingly, he would love to step foot on campus and make a name for himself right away.

However, a handful of former players, Tyrel Reed, Brady Morningstar and Travis Releford, just to name a few, paid their dues before emerging as stars at Kansas.

"Obviously, you hope for production early out of anybody," said Bossi. "You want to get as much production from them as possible, but I think you recruit a kid like Mitch Lightfoot looking towards the future. That's where I think his real value will be -- as a junior and senior."