COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Men’s Basketball has signed one of the country’s top shooters in graduate transfer guard Kassius Robertson (Toronto, Ontario) of Canisius College, head coach Cuonzo Martin announced Thursday. The 6-3, 180-pound guard sank 41.0 percent of his three-point field goal attempts as a junior for the Golden Griffins in 2016-17, averaging 16.1 points per game.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Kassius Robertson into our Mizzou Basketball Family,” Martin said. “Kassius is an experienced leader and someone who knows what it takes to be successful at this level. His skillset goes beyond shooting the basketball, as his overall ability to impact the game will be a huge benefit to our program. Best of all, Kassius has an undergraduate degree in hand, and we look forward to him being an outstanding role model and teammate.”
Experienced from his days at Canisius, Robertson started 66-of-67 games for the Golden Griffins over the past two seasons. For his college career, he has averaged 12.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game from 2014-17.
Robertson has shown off his excellent marksmanship through three seasons tormenting the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), hitting on 44.8 percent (405-of-904) of his overall field goal attempts and 40.3 percent (213-of-528) of his three-point field goal attempts. Playing a crucial role for Canisius, Robertson averaged a team-best 34.0 minutes per game as a sophomore in 2015-16 and 33.4 minutes per game this past season.
“I really appreciated the vibe I got from the Mizzou coaching staff,” Robertson said. “Coach Martin’s level of realness was unmatched, really. He and I have already had so many conversations. Coach told me wasn’t going to be a salesman and bombard me, which is what happens a lot. This was about an opportunity and what he saw in me. And he was right.
“Mizzou’s campus was so nice. I was really impressed with that. So many people around and so many different buildings and facilities. Best of all, Mizzou Arena is beautiful. I got so excited walking around in there, and I really can’t wait to play in front of Mizzou’s fans.”
Robertson’s 16.1 points per game as a junior were a team-best as he led Canisius to an 18-16 overall record. He vaulted forward as a scorer during his sophomore season in 2015-16, with his 14.4 points per game coming in as a 68 percent improvement from his freshman campaign.
As a freshman in 2014-15, Robertson earned All-MAAC Rookie Team honors after averaging 6.8 points and 2.2 rebounds per game over 33 games. He shot an impressive 47.4 percent (74-of-156) from the field in his initial collegiate campaign, joining the roster after a redshirt season in 2013-14.
Robertson played his final high school season for Thornlea Secondary School as a senior in 2012-13, averaging 22.0 points, 5.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game. He previously had played two seasons at Vaughn Secondary School.
The son of Shannon Robertson and Wadsworth Walters, Robertson earned a bachelor’s degree in health & wellness from Canisius College and will join Mizzou as a graduate student with one year of eligibility remaining.
Robertson’s signing of a financial aid agreement with the University of Missouri includes him in a growing recruiting class with current signees Blake Harris (Chapel Hill, N.C.), Michael Porter, Jr. (Columbia, Mo.), and C.J. Roberts (North Richland Hills, Texas). Learn more about Harris here, Porter here and Roberts here.
— Mizzou Athletics —