Caleb Demond Mills (born July 24, 2000) is an American college basketball player for the Memphis Tigers of the American Athletic Conference (AAC). He previously played for the Houston Cougars and the Florida State Seminoles.
 Mills in 2023 | |
| No. 9 – Memphis Tigers | |
|---|---|
| Position | Point guard / shooting guard |
| League | American Athletic Conference |
| Personal information | |
| Born | July 24, 2000 Arden, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Listed weight | 180 lb (82 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Asheville Christian Academy (Swannanoa, North Carolina) |
| College |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
High school career
editMills attended Asheville Christian Academy in Swannanoa, North Carolina. As a junior, he travelled with his team to a tournament in the Canary Islands, averaging 25.3 points per game in three games and earning tournament MVP honors. Mills was also named to the All-Southeast Super Region Team.[1] For his senior year, he transferred to T. C. Roberson High School in Asheville, North Carolina, where he did not play basketball, to graduate a semester early.[2] Mills competed for PSB Elite on the Amateur Athletic Union circuit.[3] On August 6, 2018, he committed to playing college basketball for Houston over offers from Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Tennessee and Wake Forest, among others.[4] Mills was considered a four-star recruit by ESPN and Rivals, ranked the No. 117 recruit in his class and sixth in North Carolina.[5] Head coach Kelvin Sampson called him the best offensive player he had ever recruited to Houston.[6]
College career
editMills joined Houston at the semester break in January 2019, following his early high school graduation.[7] He sat out his first season as a redshirt but practiced with the team and against backcourt starters Corey Davis Jr., Galen Robinson Jr. and Armoni Brooks.[5] On February 19, 2020, Mills scored a freshman season-high 27 points, including 22 in the second half, in a 76–43 win over Tulsa. He scored his team's first 19 points of the second half.[8] As a freshman, he mainly came off the bench and averaged a team-high 13.2 points per game, earning Second Team All-American Athletic Conference (AAC) and AAC All-Rookie Team honors.[9] Mills became the first Houston freshman to make the all-conference first or second team since Clyde Drexler, while joining Rob Williams as the only freshmen in program history to lead their team in scoring.[10] He was named preseason AAC Player of the Year before his sophomore season. Mills suffered an ankle injury early in the season and came off the bench through four games. On January 5, 2021, he transferred from Houston.[11]
On January 12, 2021, Mills transferred to Florida State.[12] He averaged 12.7 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game as a junior.[13] As a senior, Mills averaged 13.0 points, 3.4 assists, and 3.0 rebounds per game. Following the season he transferred to Memphis.[14] At Memphis, Mills averaged 7.9 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. On January 4, 2024, he suffered a season-ending knee injury in a game against Tulsa.[15]
Career statistics
edit| 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 | Bold | Career high |
College
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018–19 | Houston |  Redshirt
| ||||||||||
| 2019–20 | Houston | 31 | 7 | 22.5 | .385 | .365 | .753 | 2.6 | 1.1 | .5 | .2 | 13.2 |
| 2020–21 | Houston | 4 | 0 | 19.0 | .448 | .250 | 1.000 | 1.3 | .3 | 1.3 | .0 | 9.8 |
| 2021–22 | Florida State | 26 | 23 | 26.3 | .433 | .353 | .855 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 1.5 | .5 | 12.7 |
| 2022–23 | Florida State | 32 | 31 | 29.6 | .410 | .294 | .836 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 1.3 | .6 | 13.0 |
| Career | 93 | 61 | 25.9 | .409 | .338 | .821 | 2.6 | 2.2 | 1.1 | .4 | 12.8 | |
References
edit- ^ "Caleb Mills Joins Houston Men's Basketball". Houston Cougars. November 17, 2018. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
- ^ Duarte, Joseph (January 9, 2020). "UH finding a new closer in Caleb Mills". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
- ^ Evans, Corey (July 14, 2018). "UAA Friday: Caleb Mills emerges as a high-major prospect". Rivals. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
- ^ Thompson, David (August 6, 2018). "ACA's Caleb Mills commits to Division I college". Asheville Citizen-Times. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
- ^ a b Yanez, Armando (November 6, 2019). "Heading into his first full season, Mills wants 'to win on this team'". The Daily Cougar. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
- ^ Duarte, Joseph (January 29, 2019). "Cougars newcomer Caleb Mills in 'fantasy land' after joining hoops program". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
- ^ Reiss, Aaron (February 20, 2020). "Caleb Mills' early arrival at Houston made him an impact freshman for Cougars". The Athletic. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
- ^ Duarte, Joseph (February 19, 2020). "Caleb Mills leads UH to rout of Tulsa to take over first place in AAC". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
- ^ "Three Cougars Earn American Postseason Honors". University of Houston Athletics. March 10, 2020. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
- ^ Duarte, Joseph (March 10, 2020). "Cougars place three on all-AAC teams". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
- ^ Cobb, David (January 5, 2021). "Houston guard Caleb Mills, the AAC Preseason Player of the Year, transferring from Cougars". CBS Sports. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
- ^ Weiler, Curt (January 12, 2021). "FSU basketball lands commitment from Houston transfer Caleb Mills". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
- ^ Kassim, Ehsan (March 30, 2023). "Report: Florida State men's basketball guard will enter the transfer portal". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
- ^ Veazey, Austin (April 8, 2023). "Former Florida State Guard Finds New Destination After Entering Transfer Portal". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
- ^ Munz, Jason (January 7, 2024). "Memphis basketball's Caleb Mills out for season with left knee injury; will have surgery". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved March 18, 2024.