Kassius Robertson (born April 20, 1994) is a Canadian professional basketball player for Joventut Badalona of the Spanish Liga ACB. He competed in college basketball for Canisius and Missouri.

Kassius Robertson
Robertson with Obradoiro
No. 30 – Joventut Badalona
PositionShooting guard
LeagueLiga ACB
Personal information
Born (1994-04-20) April 20, 1994 (age 30)
Toronto, Ontario
NationalityCanadian
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight182 lb (83 kg)
Career information
High school
College
NBA draft2018: undrafted
Playing career2018–present
Career history
2018–2019Medi Bayreuth
2019Niagara River Lions
2019–2020Fortitudo Bologna
2020–2021Obradoiro
2021Niagara River Lions
2021–2022Obradoiro
2022Reggio Emilia
2022–2023Obradoiro
2023Scarborough Shooting Stars
2023–2024Valencia
2024–presentJoventut
Career highlights and awards

Early life

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Robertson is the son of Shannon Robertson and grew up in Toronto. He is of Jamaican descent.[1] He played baseball and soccer growing up but decided to focus on basketball in eighth grade.[2] 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.[3] Other college coaches liked his shooting but thought he was skinny and frail.[2]

College career

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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.[3] In his redshirt freshman year, Robertson scored 6.8 points per game and was named to the MAAC All-Rookie Team.[2] Throughout his Canisius career, he developed into a productive 3-point shooter and potent scorer.[4] He averaged 14.1 points per game as a sophomore in 2015-16.[5] 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.[5] He was named to the Second Team All-MAAC.[6] After his junior season, he opted to transfer to Missouri, choosing the Tigers over Georgia Tech because he liked Cuonzo Martin’s coaching philosophy.[3]

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.[3] Over this stretch he won two SEC Player of the Week awards.[2] 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.[3] At the conclusion of the regular season he was named to the First Team All-SEC.[7] Robertson competed in a 3-on-3 tournament after the season alongside other SEC players.[8]

Professional career

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In June 2018 Robertson signed with Medi Bayreuth of the Basketball Bundesliga league.[9] He averaged 12.3 points per game in the Bundesliga.[10]

In 2019, Robertson signed with the Niagara River Lions of the Canadian Elite Basketball League, where he played for seven games before being invited to play for the Charlotte Hornets in the 2019 NBA Summer League.[11]

In July 2019, Robertson signed with Fortitudo Bologna of the Lega Basket Serie A.[12] He was called in the Canadian national team for the first window of the FIBA AmeriCup qualifiers where he procured himself an injury[13] that compromised the rest of the season. On March 3, 2020, Robertson was released by the team.[14]

On July 17, 2020, Robertson signed with Monbus Obradoiro of the Liga ACB.[15]

On February 24, 2021, Robertson re-signed with the Niagara River Lions.[11]

On August 15, 2022, he has signed with Reggio Emilia of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA).[16]

On November 27, 2022, Robertson signed with Monbus Obradoiro of the Liga ACB.[17]

On May 10, 2023, Robertson signed with the Scarborough Shooting Stars of the Canadian Elite Basketball League.[18]

On July 17, 2023, Robertson signed a two-year deal with Valencia.[19] On June 7, 2024, the Spanish club opted out of their mutual contract. In a total of 54 games, Robertson averaged 6 points and 1 assist per contest.

On June 26, 2024, he signed with Joventut Badalona of the Spanish Liga ACB.[20]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high

EuroLeague

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2023–24 Valencia 30 16 15.7 .307 .279 .647 1.3 .7 .3 .0 4.1 1.6
Career 30 16 15.7 .307 .279 .647 1.3 .7 .3 .0 4.1 1.6

References

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  1. ^ Maggi, Alessandro (July 17, 2023). "Kassius Robertson, scoring explosiveness for the next two seasons - Sportando".
  2. ^ a b c d 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.
  3. ^ a b c d e 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.
  4. ^ "4. Kassius Robertson (2018)". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. March 1, 2018. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  5. ^ a b Palmer, Tod (May 3, 2017). "Mizzou basketball adds grad transfer Kassius Robertson from Canisius". Kansas City Star. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  6. ^ "MAAC Announces 2016-17 All-MAAC Men's Basketball Teams". Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. February 27, 2017. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  7. ^ "2018 SEC Men's Basketball Awards announced" (Press release). Southeastern Conference. March 6, 2018. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ "Kassius Robertson just signed with your new favorite Bundesliga hoops team". SB Nation. June 28, 2018. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  10. ^ "Valencia Basket brings in scorer Kassius Robertson | EuroLeague". Euroleague Basketball. July 16, 2023. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Kassius Robertson Returns to the River Lions". RiverLions.ca. February 24, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  12. ^ "Kassius Robertson signs with Fortitudo Bologna". Sportando. July 16, 2019. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  13. ^ "Fortitudo Pompea Bologna will sign Jerome Dyson after Kassius Robertson's injury". sportando.basketball. February 25, 2020.
  14. ^ "Risoluzione consensuale con Kassius Robertson" (in Italian). fortitudo103.it. March 3, 2019.
  15. ^ "Kassius Robertson signs with Monbus Obradoiro". Sportando. July 17, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  16. ^ "Pallacanestro Reggiana officially signs Kassius Robertson". Sportando. August 15, 2022. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
  17. ^ "Kassius Robertson regresa al Monbus Obradoiro". obradoirocab.com (in Spanish). November 27, 2022. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  18. ^ "Shooting Stars Re-Sign Team Canada Guard Robertson". CEBL.ca. May 10, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  19. ^ "Kassius Robertson, scoring explosiveness for the next two seasons". ValenciaBasket.com. July 17, 2023. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
  20. ^ "Joventut Badalona officially signs Kassius Robertson". Sportando. June 26, 2024. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
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