Lightfoot commits to dream school

Surrounded by family and friends, Mitch Lightfoot, on Saturday afternoon, committed to the school he grew up dreaming about one day playing for as a young boy in Kansas City, Mo.

Mitch Lightfoot still remembers the conversation. After making the decision to back out of his verbal commitment to New Mexico, the 6-foot-8, 210-pound power forward from Gilbert (AZ) Christian High School, had a heart-to-heart conversation with John Ortega, his AAU coach, that would forever change the landscape of his recruitment.

"I remember the conversation very vividly," said Mitch Lightfoot. "After I de-committed, Coach Ortega called me up and we had a talk. He was actually at my house and we talked for a little bit and we got to the point where he wanted to know what I wanted to get out of this (recruitment)? I told him that I wanted to play at Kansas.

"My goal, since I knew what basketball was, ever since then, I've always been working my butt off to try and get here," he added. "So to all those kids sitting in the stands watching the Jayhawks, waning to be a Jayhawk, you can definitely do it."

When Lightfoot, who averaged, averaged 17.9 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 4.8 blocks per game during his junior season at Gilbert (AZ) Christian High School, 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.

However, when the dust finally settled, just a handful of schools, Kansas, Arizona, St. John's, Stanford and Utah were left standing. Lightfoot, who took his final official visit to Arizona during the weekend of October 10, took a few weeks to let everything sink in before reaching the decision making phase of his recruitment.

When the time came for Lightfoot to put an end to his recruitment, he knew, without any question at all, that Kansas stood above the rest.

"I think Kansas is the best fit for me because Kansas, all Jayhawk fans, are a big family," said Lightfoot. "Everyone there wants to see the Jayhawks succeed. Being part of a big family organization is important to me. It's pretty awesome, and it's the best one that I saw out of all the visits I went on, so that's why I'm going to Kansas.

"My thing was -- I took all of these visits and I was going to go where I felt comfortable," he added. "That was, by far, at Kansas. I felt like I was at home at Kansas and that is home. I moved to Arizona when I was six, but I remember everybody being so rabid about Kansas and how intense the fans are."

Jayhawk Slant caught up with Rivals.com National Basketball Recruiting Analyst Eric Bossi to talk about KU's first commitment in the 2016 class.

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."