Player Profile: Super-Senior Forward Mitch Lightfoot

Who: Mitch Lightfoot

Height: 6-foot-8

Weight: 225

Position: Forward

Class: 2016 (Super-Senior)

Ranking: No. 107

Hometown: Gilbert, Ariz.

High School: Gilbert Christian HS

Why Kansas: Mitch Lightfoot, the 6-foot-8, 225-pound center from Gilbert, Ariz., was actually born in Kansas City, Mo., a grew up a huge fan of Kansas. His passion for the Jayhawks didn't change one bit when his family eventually made the move to Arizona. Throughout his recruitment, Lightfoot, a four-star prospect, received scholarship offers from Arizona, Arizona State, California, Creighton, Grand Canyon, New Mexico, Northern Arizona, Portland, St. John's, Stanford, Utah, and others. With five official visits at his disposal, Lightfoot took trips to Stanford (5/28/15), Utah (9/3/15), Kansas (9/18/15), St. John's (10/2/15) and, Arizona (10/10/15) before giving the nod to Bill Self and the Jayhawks on October 25, 2015. Self and Norm Roberts invested a ton of time recruiting Lightfoot and made it clear he was a priority for Kansas early on in his recruitment.

The Skinny: Lightfoot, who is known to many as "Prison Mitch", averaged 22.6 points, 11.9 rebounds and 2.6 blocked shots in 2015-16 at Gilbert Christian High School in Gilbert, Arizona under head coach Kurt Keener.

Lightfoot was named the Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year for 2015-16 and received the Tough Guy Award by the Arizona Republic following his senior season. He Led Gilbert Christian to a 21-6 record his senior year, advancing to the second round of the AIA Division II state tournament. Additionally, Lightfoot scored 32 points in the 2016 BallisLife All-America game on April 30, at Long Beach City College in California.

As a junior, Lightfoot averaged 17.9 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 3.9 blocked shots in leading Gilbert Christian to the AIA Division II state title. He was named the player of the game in the 2015 state title contest where he scored 15 points. Lightfoot, as a sophomore, averaged 15.0 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 4.0 blocked shots per contest and was the Southern Arizona Player of the Year and all-section first-team honoree.

Lastly, Lightfoot averaged 12.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 3.8 blocked shots per outing and was the only freshman named to the All-Southern Arizona team, earning third-team honors.

Awards:

Academic All-Big 12 First Team [2021]

Named the Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year for 2015-16

Received the Tough Guy Award by the Arizona Republic following his senior season

As a sophomore, Lightfoot averaged 15.0 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 4.0 blocked shots per contest and was the Southern Arizona Player of the Year and all-section first-team honoree

Mitch Lightfoot at Kansas: Lightfoot will be a sixth-year super-senior in 2021-22. He has played in 128 games while at KU with eight starts entering 2021-22. He Enters 2021-22 in 16th on the KU career blocked shots list with 122.

Lightfoot has built a reputation for taking charges as he has led KU in the stat for three seasons with 16 in 2017-18, 14 in 2018-19, and 14 in 2020-21. He was born in Kansas City and moved to Arizona as a youth. Lightfoot graduated from KU with an economics degree in December 2020 and is pursuing a master’s degree in sport management.

Lightfoot is one of two Jayhawks who were on the 2018 Final Four team (Chris Teahan).

Bill Self on Mitch Lightfoot: "Mitch is one of those guys at 6-foot-8 that can play the power forward position and maybe even a little small forward in time," Self said. "He gives us great versatility and is a guy that knows how to play with other good players. He will develop himself into one of the premier players in our program.

"He grew up loving the Jayhawks before moving out to Arizona," he added. "Norm (Roberts) was the point man in Mitch's recruitment and did a great job with his family. After we got to know his immediate family and his extended family, it became very apparent he was a great fit. Everyone knew after visiting with him and his family that he was a top priority. We're all excited to be able to work with him on a daily basis.

"We would really like to sign four," he continued. "We got off to a great start when we signed Mitchell Lightfoot. We have to sign some size. Losing Hunter (Michelson), Jamari (Traylor), and Perry (Ellis), and then with a great chance of someone else will probably leave early, we're probably looking at replacing four of our top big guys upfront. Even though our backcourt are underclassmen, we anticipate that at least one of those guys will have the opportunity to maybe move on to the next level after the completion of this season."

What to expect: What an absolute run it has been for Mitch Lightfoot since his arrival at Kansas. Living out a lifelong dream, Lightfoot, in 129 career games, has averaged 2.4 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. Offensively, he's hit 54.4 percent of his field goals, 31.6 percent of his shots from behind the arc, and 55.1 percent of his free throws. Last season, Lightfoot, in 30 games, averaged 3.4 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. In 30 games, he shot 50.6 percent from the field, 25.0 percent from behind the arc, and 61.5 percent from the free-throw line. So, the question is, what does the 2021-22 season hold for Lightfoot? The answer to that question remains unknown. Lightfoot brings a ton of experience, passion, energy, and "want to" to the table. He's going to battle for every rebound, dive for every loose ball, sacrifice his body under the basket, and play with a passion and intensity that likely won't be matched. His big-game experience and understanding of what Self wants and expects is certainly an advantage he has over most that play his position. This season, his sixth, Lightfoot may very well see his role expand significantly. Defensively, especially when it comes to taking charges, fighting for rebounds, diving for loose balls, and steal extra possessions, there's no slowing down Lightfoot. Offensively, if he's able to provide some consistency from behind the arc, Lightfoot emerges as a player that has the potential to be a difference-maker. One way or the other, Lightfoot is going to make the most of his final season as a member of the University of Kansas men's basketball program.