Mitch Lightfoot will leave Kansas Jayhawks with two Final Fours ... and two degrees
Mitch Lightfoot decided to make the most of his six years as a University of Kansas student-athlete.
The 6-foot-8, 225-pound super senior from Gilbert, Arizona, redshirted the 2019-20 season on the court to increase his chances of developing into a key rotation player.
Mission accomplished.
He’s averaged 4.7 points and 2.8 rebounds in 12.3 minutes per game for KU’s (32-6) Big 12 regular-season and postseason tournament champion and Final Four team.
Lightfoot, 24, in his years in Lawrence also has focused on academics. He’s accomplished some things in the classroom that he thinks “will give me the opportunity to do something beyond basketball.”
“I have a bachelor’s in economics, a minor in business and a master’s in sports management,” Lightfoot said in a recent chat outside the interview room at Allen Fieldhouse.
“Right now,” he added of his sixth year on campus, “I’m taking stuff that will help me after basketball — taking money management classes, entrepreneurship and stuff like that. I want to continue playing, whether it be overseas or whatnot. After that, I’m not too sure.”
Lightfoot downplayed his academic achievements saying, “You stay in college long enough, you get as many degrees as you can.”
Trust Lightfoot … it’s not especially easy to gain a degree in economics.
“Some are for sure,” he said, asked if the professors are tough. “I’ve had a few,” he added, smiling.
On the court, Lightfoot and fifth-year senior non-scholarship player Chris Teahan are about to experience their second Final Four.
KU defeated Duke in the 2018 Elite Eight, 85-81, in overtime in Omaha, Nebraska, then lost to Villanova, 95-79, in the national semifinals in San Antonio, Texas. Villanova is the opponent again during this Final Four semifinal (5:09 p.m., Saturday, Caesars Superdome).
“I think this is very reminiscent of when we went to the Final Four in 2018,” Lightfoot said. “Every one of these guys cares for each other. This team believes in each other. They believe in ourselves, and Coach (Bill Self) has said it before: we may not be the most talented team in the world but we certainly think we are.”
Asked what he remembers about the 2018 Final Four in Texas, Lightfoot said: “It was incredible. The fans are amazing. The environment was amazing. The buzz around campus is different. I kind of felt that a little bit recently with this run.
“Being down at the Final Four is something that’s something you guys (media) are going to realize what’s actually fun about it, because it’s all about basketball at the Final Four.
“It’s all about your team getting better, your team finding a way to win tough games. I think we’re going to have some fun doing that. But the lead up to it, the buzz is palpable.”
He thinks the team can handle any pressure in New Orleans. KU starts seniors in Ochai Agbaji and David McCormack, a junior in Christian Braun plus redshirt sophomores in Jalen Wilson and Dajuan Harris. Seniors Lightfoot, Remy Martin and Jalen Coleman-Lands come off the bench with redshirt sophomore Joseph Yesufu and freshmen KJ Adams and Zach Clemence available as well.
“I think we have an older team. Our guys have the ability to kind of block everything out and allow this game to be a game for us,” Lightfoot said. “All of us played a lot of basketball in our lives and played a lot of basketball together. We’ll play our game, and it’s another basketball game at the end of the day.”
Self will obviously give the highest recommendation for Lightfoot if in the future any employers come calling for a reference.
“Mitch is Mitch. He always tries so hard,” Self said of Lightfoot, who leads the team in blocks with 33 (one more than Braun and McCormack). “He is the best. He loves this place. He bleeds red and blue combined. He’s so loyal. He’s been great since he’s been here. He deserved to have this type of senior year.”
This story was originally published March 31, 2022 at 3:00 AM with the headline "Mitch Lightfoot will leave Kansas Jayhawks with two Final Fours ... and two degrees."
