Gatorade selects Carmody as its best

Robby Carmody is the best high school basketball player in Pennsylvania this season. At least that’s what Gatorade says.

Carmody, a 6-foot-4 senior guard at Mars High School, has been named the Gatorade Pennsylvania Player of the Year. He is the first player from the WPIAL to win the award since Moon’s Brian Walsh in 2008.

The Gatorade award is presented not only for athletic excellence but also academic and exemplary character off the court.

Carmody, who has signed to play with Notre Dame, has a 4.0 grade point average.

This season, Carmody is averaging 32.1 points a game and helped Mars win a WPIAL championship for the first time in school history. His regular-season average of 33.6 was the third highest in the WPIAL in the past 25 seasons, exceeded only by Charti e r s Valley’s T.J. McConnell and Highlands’ Micah Mason, who both averaged 34.1. McConnell is now playing in the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Carmody also averages 14.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 4 steals and 1.8 blocks a game.

He is shooting 55 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range and 83 percent from the free-throw line. He has 2,261 career points, which is the 14th best total in WPIAL history.

Carmody and Mars begin the PIAA playoffs Friday night against Hampton.