Jared CohenHow’s this for action in one year?
In a year, Mitch Lightfoot moved to a new city (Tucson to Gilbert) enrolled in a new school (Irnowood Ridge to Gilbert Christian), got off to a fantastic start to his junior season with the Knights before a ruling by the AIA that named him in ineligible for a chunk of the season. That ruling was appealed and won which allowed Lightfoot to return to the court and eventually win a state championship in division II over Arcadia.
“It’s been crazy,” Lightfoot told Sports360AZ. “I mean, through all of this, I’ve really trusted in God that he would get me where I need to be. I think I am better off now from where I was then and the future looks bright.”
Speaking of bright futures, Lightfoot who was once a New Mexico commit at the next level which was another major life event in the past year, opted to re-open his recruitment. Since doing so around April, he has received new scholarship offers from Nebraska, Kansas, Creighton, Utah, Arizona and Arizona State in addition to the ones he had prior to his New Mexico commitment.
“It gives me the confidence that what I am doing is producing results,” Lightfoot explained. “But I need to keep doing it because if I keep doing it, I can be a force at the next level and that’s in the end what the goal is.”
Comparing his game on the floor from a year ago until now as he is competing in summer ball with Gilbert Christian and on the club circuit, there has been been improvement in key areas.
“I’m stronger,” he mentioned. “I’ve really been focused on lifting and getting bigger. That’s what I feel I’ve become. I have got more finesse to my game and I finish better around the rim.”
For someone as long as Lightfoot is standing 6-10, adding weight and maintaining it is no easy task. So the summer has meant keeping the pantry stocked in addition to time spent in the weight room.
“I eat like four good meals a day and supplement throughout the day with a PB & J every once in a while,” Lightfoot stated. “I do lifting four days a week, twice a week we do two-a-days, so I’ve just been really focused on eating right and doing the right workouts for my body.”
Lightfoot and his fellow senior-to-be teammate, Colorado commit Cameron Satterwhite, have their sights set on going out on top and repeating as state champions in 2016.
