Jayhawks wrap up boot camp 2021 early Wednesday morning

By Matt Tait     Sep 22, 2021
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Kansas basketball boot camp 2021 is now a thing of the past.

The Jayhawks wrapped up this year’s grueling conditioning session on Wednesday morning, a day or two earlier than its expected ending.

In the past, when boot camp has finished early, that has been an indication that the coaching staff was pleased with the work the players put in from start to finish and wanted to call it early as a reward of sorts.

As has become tradition, the team announced the end of boot camp on social media with a locker room photo of the group after the final session.

In it, you get a glimpse of who looks bigger than last season and which players like to flex their muscles and pose with the tough guy look rather than a smile or relaxed approach. There’s a good mixture of both styles in this year’s photo, which also offers the latest look at the 10 newcomers on this year’s roster.

Drake transfer Joseph Yesufu (far left) has caught most of the attention on social media for his ripped physique. But returners Jalen Wilson, David McCormack and Christian Braun all have garnered mention, as well.

And then, of course, there’s super-senior Mitch Lightfoot, who went viral for his biceps flex a couple of years ago after the team’s boot camp. This was the sixth boot camp of Lightfoot’s KU career, and he wrapped it up with his own thoughts on social media Wednesday morning.

“Sources can confirm I have completed my last boot camp of all time,” Lightfoot wrote on Twitter. “Will not be taking any questions at this time. Thank you for your understanding. #6”

Later, after the team photo was posted, Lightfoot responded with a quote tweet that simply read, “Not flexing.”

The Jayhawks will continue to run through preseason practices in preparation for the official start of the 2021-22, which will be celebrated on Oct. 1 with the annual Late Night in the Phog event. But the days of the 5 a.m. wake-up calls are now behind them.

KU’s season opener is slated for Nov. 9 against Michigan State at the Champions Classic in New York City. KU will host Emporia State on Nov. 3 in its lone exhibition game of the 2021-22 season.

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.