Lightfoot can't score...

Just glanced at the box score (as Lightfoot draws a charge and hits his head). He's 0-0 for FGs and FTs. Total waste of space on offense, right? Hell no. 3 boards, 3 blocks, a couple of charges, and a ton of hustle. Love that goofy looking kid.

....and KU has 4 blocks total....3 are his.

How does he end it? They try to get him the ball in the last possession, the ball winds up on the rim, and who grabs the offensive board?

Yeah, you guessed it. Best zero point game I've seen in a while.

Agreed!! Great game by Mitch!

totally agree. And I've been pretty critical of him all season but man he's getting a lot better and is learning to "Just make plays!"

He set a really nice pick/seal along the blocks for Svi to get the hoop early in the game..

Player Ratings coming. But the eye test says Lightfoot's defense is on an Embiid like trajectory. He seems to be a smart kid and is learning to play defense very quickly. Plus, his footwork was lightning quick tonight on defense. Best defensive game of the season for the team wire to wire.

I agree with all the enthusiasm about Lightfoot. That seal for Svi's drive was a thing of beauty. He had three guys behind him watching Svi's bucket. However, when he first got into the game, he was the one with the lazy bounce pass to Svi that was stolen by Smeed, allowing Svi to make that great come-from-behind block.

We sometimes forget what college basketball is or should be about. Mitch would be happy just being able to practice and sit on the bench in the Kansas uniform. That he gets to play and is playing well is just icing on the cake. By all accounts, he is also a glue guy off the court as well.

Yep, love his competitiveness! And I always called him "Opie"!

I always think of TJ Pugh as a great "glue guy". There have been other glue guys, but TJ is my standard of comparison.

I think Mitch is clearly that guy, and moreover we know we've got him for 2 more years. This year he gets lots of PT because of our depth issues, and we might not see as much of him the next two years as other guys come in the rotation ahead of him. Neverthelss, it's guys like him who seem to get more minutes in the early part of the season because they know what Self wants and his system. The other thing that Mitch will likely do is help those new players learn what HCBS is looking for.

True team player who brings it every night.

and when the camera pans the bench next year, the guy with the biggest smile will still be Mitch

I'm not so convinced that Lightfoot will be off the radar screen for next year. Glue guys are so important and I believe Self will utilize him more than we are thinking. He seems to be a grinder and is working himself into the good graces of HCBS. I do admit that it will be difficult to find a spot for him, though.

We haven't had the luxury of playing a 2 big lineup due to our depth. I could see Mitch maybe getting some minutes in that scenario. Who knows, if Hudy drops another 25 pounds of muscle on him in the off season, he might be totally different player.

In the end, if you go 100%, play solid defense, and go hard for loose balls and rebounds, it seems that Self will find something for you to do, even if you're not playing 40 minutes a game.

Great article about Mitch!

www2.kusports.com/news/2018/jan/30/sopho...ot-logging-valuable/