Where was Mitch Lightfoot when KU Jayhawks won it all in 2008? Let him explain ...
Per his parents’ orders, 10-year-old Mitch Lightfoot reluctantly headed to his bedroom with his favorite college team, the Kansas Jayhawks, leading Memphis 33-28 after 20 minutes of the 2008 NCAA championship game.
“How old was I in 2008? I’ll tell you a different story,” a relaxed Lightfoot, KU’s 6-foot-8, 225-pound super-senior forward from Gilbert, Arizona, said on Sunday at Caesars Superdome, site of Monday’s 8:20 p.m. national title game between Kansas and North Carolina.
“In 2008,” Lightfoot continued, “my parents made me go to bed at halftime of that game. That’s something I still give them trouble for. They are actually here (in New Orleans). I told them they have to go home at halftime of this one.”
He delivered the line like a comedian on stage.
Lightfoot found out on April 8, 2008 — the morning after the game — that KU had defeated the Tigers 75-68 in overtime for the NCAA crown in San Antonio. Now one of KU’s senior leaders, he said the Jayhawks aren’t dwelling on the fact it’s been a good, long while since KU last won the national title.
“I think the team … we haven’t thought about any gaps between titles,” he said. “I don’t think that’s something that crosses our mind. We know this year is this year. We can’t worry about the past. Each guy is committed to getting better and make sure we handle our business.”
Everybody knows KU, which was expected to be awarded the overall No. 1 seed, had a chance to win it all during the 2019-20 season, one in which KU went 28-3 (17-1 in Big 12 games).
COVID-19 wiped out that postseason. There was no NCAA Tournament.
KU big man David McCormack on Sunday mentioned Lightfoot getting the team together for a picture hours after the 2020 Big 12 Tournament was canceled because of the pandemic. The Jayhawks, like fellow students on campus, headed back to their respective hometowns on March 13, 2020.
“It was crazy. That was the last time that group was all together,” Lightfoot said. “It’s wild that COVID ended that season. That was a close group of guys playing their best ball. It sucks that it had to end like that. I miss those guys.”
Some of those former teammates — including Devon Dotson, Udoka Azubuike and Marcus Garrett — are playing at the pro level now.
“I know they are doing well,” Lightfood said. “I think they are all watching us and all proud of us as well.”
Indeed they are. Dotson, a guard for the G League’s Windy City Bulls, recently told The Star he was following KU’s fortunes closely.
“I’ve talked to Doke (Azubuike) a little bit (during tournament),” Lightfoot said of the Utah Jazz center, who is sidelined because of a foot injury. “He’s one of my really good friends. It’s always good to catch up with Doke.”
On the possibility of winning the 2022 title against UNC Monday night, Lightfoot said KU is ready.
“We’re focused,” he said, “looking forward to the game. No what-ifs, no what-coulda-been’s — none of that. We have to go out and play. We are locked in to play. ‘No side streets’ is something coach Q (Fred Quartlebaum) has always said. We’re not going to take any side streets and make sure we get things done.”
