Kassius Robertson

Kassius Robertson (born April 20, 1994) is a Canadian basketball player who last played for Fortitudo Bologna of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) league. He competed in college basketball for Missouri and Canisius.

Kassius Robertson
Robertson with Fortitudo Bologna in November 2019
Free agent
PositionShooting guard
Personal information
Born (1994-04-20) April 20, 1994
Toronto, Ontario
NationalityCanadian
Listed height1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Listed weight82 kg (181 lb)
Career information
High school
College
NBA draft2018 / Undrafted
Playing career2018–present
Career history
2018–2019Medi Bayreuth
2019–2020Fortitudo Bologna
Career highlights and awards
  • First-team All-SEC (2018)
  • Second-team All-MAAC (2017)

Early life

Robertson is the son of Shannon Robertson and grew up in Toronto. He played baseball and soccer growing up but decided to focus on basketball in eighth grade.[1] He attended Vaughan Secondary School, where he was a bench player on a team led by Andrew Wiggins. Robertson followed his AAU coach Shane James to Thornlea Secondary School to try to get more playing time. As a senior, he posted 22 points, five assists and two steals per game. Even so, he was lightly recruited, and only received his lone Division I offer from Canisius after assistant coach Mike Mennenga came to scout a different player.[2] Other college coaches liked his shooting but thought he was skinny and frail.[1]

College career

Robertson redshirted his freshman season at Canisius, hitting the weight room and staying in the gym late. Campus police sometimes told Robertson to leave the gym.[2] In his redshirt freshman year, Robertson scored 6.8 points per game and was named to the MAAC All-Rookie Team.[1] Throughout his Canisius career, he developed into a productive 3-point shooter and potent scorer.[3] He averaged 14.1 points per game as a sophomore in 2015-16.[4] He scored 16 points in a 93-69 loss to Kentucky on November 13, 2016. As a redshirt junior, Robertson averaged 16.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.[4] He was named to the Second Team All-MAAC.[5] After his junior season, he opted to transfer to Missouri, choosing the Tigers over Georgia Tech because he liked Cuonzo Martin’s coaching philosophy.[2]

Robertson expected to be a three-point specialist playing alongside Michael Porter Jr., however his role expanded when Porter was injured in the first game. Robertson scored 23 points in a win against Wagner on November 13, 2017, shooting 5 for 8 on three-pointers. In a victory over St. John's on November 24, he posted 17 points and five assists. He organized late night team meetings after the team dropped three straight SEC games. Missouri rebounded to record a five game winning streak, during which time Robertson scored 20.6 points per game.[2] Over this stretch he won two SEC Player of the Week awards.[1] As a graduate transfer at Missouri, Robertson led the Tigers in scoring with 16.6 points per game while shooting 43 percent from behind the arc.[2] At the conclusion of the regular season he was named to the First Team All-SEC.[6] Robertson competed in a 3-on-3 tournament after the season alongside other SEC players.[7]

Professional career

In June 2018 Robertson signed with Medi Bayreuth of the Basketball Bundesliga league.[8] He averaged 12.3 points per game in the Bundesliga.

In July 2019, Robertson signed with Fortitudo Bologna of the Lega Basket Serie A.[9] He was called in the Canadian national team for the first window of the FIBA AmeriCup qualifiers where he procured himself an injury[10] that compromised the rest of the season. On March 3, 2020, Robertson was released by the team.[11]

References

  1. Lewis, Alec (February 19, 2018). "From one DI offer to elite graduate transfer: The road MU's Robertson has traveled". Columbia Missourian. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  2. Schiffer, Alex (March 2, 2018). "'We'd be in a different position:' How Kassius Robertson carried Missouri's season". Kansas City Star. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  3. "4. Kassius Robertson (2018)". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. March 1, 2018. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  4. Palmer, Tod (May 3, 2017). "Mizzou basketball adds grad transfer Kassius Robertson from Canisius". Kansas City Star. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  5. "MAAC Announces 2016-17 All-MAAC Men's Basketball Teams". Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. February 27, 2017. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  6. "2018 SEC Men's Basketball Awards announced" (Press release). Southeastern Conference. March 6, 2018. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  7. Bland, Pete (March 31, 2018). "Robertson's SEC team 3-0, headed to quarters in 3-on-3 tourney". Columbia Missourian. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  8. "Kassius Robertson just signed with your new favorite Bundesliga hoops team". SB Nation. June 28, 2018. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  9. "Kassius Robertson signs with Fortitudo Bologna". Sportando. July 16, 2019. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  10. "Fortitudo Pompea Bologna will sign Jerome Dyson after Kassius Robertson's injury". sportando.basketball. February 25, 2020.
  11. "Risoluzione consensuale con Kassius Robertson" (in Italian). fortitudo103.it. March 3, 2019.
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