KU’s Mitch Lightfoot discusses his role after scoring career-high 14 points vs. Omaha
Kansas reserve power forward Mitch Lightfoot is not the type of person to hang his head during games in which he’s denied much playing time.
“I have total faith in Coach (Bill) Self. I trust him. I understand there is a process and there are certain times certain lineups work better than others. If that means we’re going to win, I’ll take it,” Lightfoot said after scoring a career-high 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting (1 of 1 from three and 5 of 6 from the line) with seven rebounds and three blocks in Friday’s 95-50 rout of Omaha on Friday night at Allen Fieldhouse.
The 6-foot-8, 225-pound Lightfoot — he had scored just 15 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in limited duty in KU’s first six games — erupted for 12 points (with four rebounds) the first half as KU cruised to a 45-22 halftime advantage.
Lightfoot, a native of Gilbert, Arizona, who redshirted last year, in one half surpassed his old high of 11 points attained against Oakland on Nov. 24, 2017.
“I think my role is give us energy like they say,” said Lightfoot. He played 10 minutes the first half, which was just a minute shy of his season-high total in minutes this season (against Washburn). Lightfoot finished with a season-high in minutes (14).
“I need to help us get extra possessions, score when I need to score, (get) offensive rebounds, set good screens and run to the rim,” he said.
KU coach Self especially enjoyed Lightfoot’s three blocks. Lightfoot also took a charge on defense.
“I thought Mitch was great. He got three blocked shots. He made some shots,” Self said.
“I think we should measure Mitch kind of like we did with Jamari (Traylor, former Jayhawk reserve forward) from an energy standpoint, intangibles, making some plays that others can’t make. If he scores, great, if he doesn’t, no big deal because he can help us win games with his activity level,” Self added.
Lightfoot drilled a three-pointer late in the first half. It was his first made three this season, and he is now 11 of 31 on three-pointers for his career.
“Mitch has shot the ball really well in practice. It was nice to see him step away from the basket and make a shot or two,” Self said.
Junior forward Ochai Agbaji followed a zero-point outing in KU’s one-point win over Creighton on Tuesday with 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Agbaji hit 4 of 6 threes and had five rebounds.
“Last game was a rough game. My teammates knew it,” Agbaji said. “They did the best job keeping my confidence up. A new day, new opportunities. That’s what my mindset is,” he added.
KU raced to a 17-0 lead and led 45-22 at halftime, leading to playing time for everybody.
Starters David McCormack had 11 points and 11 rebounds, Jalen Wilson nine points and seven boards and Marcus Garrett eight assists, five rebounds and five points. Garrett before the game was presented the 2020 Naismith defensive player of the year award and logged just 20 minutes total in the blowout.
Wing Tyon Grant-Foster scored 13 points (he had two highlight reel dunks) on 5-of-10 shooting with seven boards while reserve guard Latrell Jossell scored five points in five minutes.
“I think it was important to see the other guys that might not have played as many minutes to get out there and play some of those minutes, get some confidence. It’s good to see everybody (all 13 players) score tonight,” Lightfoot said.
The Omaha game will be KU’s last tuneup before Thursday’s Big 12 opener at Texas Tech. Sunday’s game against Tarleton State has been called off because of a positive case of COVID-19 in the Tarleton program.
“I think everybody understands it stinks we will not be able to play,” Lightfoot said. “We need to be as safe as we can. We knew going out there and playing our best basketball tonight was going to be in our best interests. Everybody wanted to give coach a look how we can play and the ability we have. I think it’s good we played well tonight.”
Might Lightfoot garner double-digit minutes in Big 12 play?
“Obviously I don’t expect that I’m deserving of anything,” Lightfoot said. “I’m trying to go out there and give my team the best chance to win. I was able to do that tonight. I was pretty excited about it.”
This story was originally published December 11, 2020 at 8:28 PM with the headline "KU’s Mitch Lightfoot discusses his role after scoring career-high 14 points vs. Omaha."
