Point guard C.J. Roberts to transfer from Mizzou basketball team, father says

Missouri freshman guard C.J. Roberts is planning to transfer, his father, Craig Roberts, told The Star.

Roberts, a 6-foot combo guard from Irving, Texas, has not played in the regular season. Tigers coach Cuonzo Martin, after the Tigers’ second game of the season, announced that Roberts would redshirt.

“He loves the school, he loves his teammates, but he wants to play,” Craig Roberts said Thursday. “He wants to look for a situation where he can play.”

Originally recruited under former Missouri coach Kim Anderson, C.J. Roberts was a four-star recruit out of high school and considered a top-100 player by Rivals.com. Roberts committed to Missouri in the fall of 2016 and stayed on with the program after Anderson was fired and ultimately replaced by Martin. In the spring, Missouri added the likes of Michael Porter Jr., Jeremiah Tilmon and Blake Harris, giving the Tigers a top-five recruiting class.

Martin in a statement released Thursday night confirmed the move: “C.J. Roberts will transfer from the Mizzou Men’s Basketball program. We wish him nothing but the best, and we will assist him in any way possible.”

Roberts played two minutes in Missouri’s exhibition game against Kansas and scored two points off a pair of free throws.

When Missouri went to Orlando for the Advocare Invitational during Thanksgiving week, Roberts elected to go home rather than travel with the team, an option Martin provides to players who are redshirting.

Considered an undersized shooting guard, Roberts was behind wings Kassius Robertson, Jordan Barnett and Cullen VanLeer this season. Missouri signed a pair of wings for next season in Javon Pickett and Torrence Watson, a consensus top-50 recruit.

Roberts could explore a junior-college option next semester, but his father said nothing has been set.

With Roberts’ departure, Missouri would have one scholarship to use.

This story was originally published December 7, 2017 at 4:58 PM with the headline "Point guard C.J. Roberts to transfer from Mizzou basketball team, father says."