Freshman guard Montaque Gill-Caesar can do a lot.
He’s 6-foot-6-inches, has a knack for getting to the basket and comes from Huntington Prep in West Virginia, one of the nation’s strongest high school basketball powerhouses.
“He’s a big focus of what we’re trying to do offensively,” said Missouri assistant coach Rob Fulford, who was also Gill-Caesar’s high school coach.
And Gill-Caesar can feel the spotlight.
“I have a lot of expectations,” Gill-Caesar said. “I put a lot of pressure on myself.”
The hopes are high for Gill-Caesar both internally and from his coaching staff. They are hopes being placed on a 17-year-old who is supposed to be a senior in high school.
Gill-Caesar elected to graduate from high school a year early to come join Fulford at Missouri.
“Teki’s here because I’m here,” Fulford said. “I think it’s a situation that, for him, he had to make a decision if he wanted to be a 2015 (recruit) or come this year. For us, it didn’t make sense for him to wait a year.
“He’ll make freshman mistakes just like everybody else, but physically he was ready,” Fulford added. “And now after a couple months of going at it, he’s adjusted very well.”
Previously scheduled to graduate high school in the spring of 2015, the guard took his time making a decision, ultimately deciding in August to join the Tigers.
It wasn’t an easy decision.
“I was stuck between whether I wanted to stay in high school or go (to college) in 2014,” Gill-Caesar said. “I talked to my mom and made the decision that (Missouri) is where I wanted to be if I went anywhere in 2014. I talked to (Mizzou coach Kim Anderson) a few times before I made my decision.
“When I came on my official visit, he broke down what he wanted to do for this program and the image of Missouri basketball. I was really comfortable with what he was saying and I trusted him, so I realized he and I have the same goals.”
Despite arriving in August, Gill-Caesar has wasted no time making positive impressions on Anderson and the Missouri coaching staff. Anderson called the freshman a “complete player.”
“He’s a guy who can do a lot of things,” Anderson said. “He’s a good shooter. He handles the ball well. He can get to the basket. He’s a solid defender.”
Fulford has also been impressed with his former high school star and said he thinks Gill-Caesar will only get better with time, even though “he’s going to have ups and downs like every freshman does.”
“He’s a really good player, and I think he just has to be more consistent,” Fulford said. “That comes with confidence and having the mentality to be more physical (at the rim). Even though he played at the highest level of high school basketball, there’s a huge adjustment from there to here. But he’s doing well.”