Carmody Embraces First Start
Notre Dame hasn’t had a freshman start the season opener since 2002 with forward Torin Francis made his collegiate debut.
On Tuesday night, freshman guard Robby Carmody got the nod as the Irish hosted the University of Illinois-Chicago in the Gotham Classic.
“It was an amazing experience,” stated Carmody following the 84-67 Irish win. “I don’t know if you could see me with the lights off, but I couldn’t stop smiling.
“Coach (Mike) Brey trusts me with this opportunity, and I hope I proved him right by putting me in there. I feel really blessed with this opportunity,”
Brey had been battling back and forth with his fifth starter and settled on Carmody, but he also admitted he had second thoughts.
“Even today (Tuesday) I had second thoughts and thought we should start Elijah Burns,” said Brey. “Robby took advantage of his opportunity.”
Carmody didn’t know he was starting until Monday’s practice when he saw the scouting report, and the nerves immediately kicked in for the 6-foot-4, 204-pounder.
“The first time was during film when I saw my name on the guy I was going to guard,” Carmody said of when he found out he was a starter. “I was really nervous going into practice because it was the first time I was starting on the white team. I calmed my nerves and got ready for what I needed to do today.”
It didn’t take long for Carmody to lose his nerves as he stepped in front of a UIC player to draw a charge on the game’s first possession.
“It helped me settle down right away,” Carmody said of the charge. “We got the charge, and I got all that built up energy to wear off. I was ready to lock in from there.”
The momentum helped Carmody score 11 points on 3-for-5 shooting to go with two rebounds and two assists in just 14 minutes.
Carmody would have probably played a few more minutes but left the game with a shoulder injury, which was addressed following the win.
“It’s all good,” said Carmody. “I’ll be out here on Thursday night. It’s just a bad bruise. I went in to reach in on a dig, and it just jarred out a little bit. It was a freak thing that happened.”