SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Robby Carmody's collegiate basketball career started off well enough.

The 2018 Mars graduate — who scored 2,390 points and grabbed 1,216 rebounds in his high school career — started Notre Dame's season opener his freshman year and scored 11 points in a win over Illinois-Chicago.

He became the first true freshman to start a Notre Dame men's basketball game in 16 years.

The luck of the Irish hasn't been with him since.

A torn labrum in his left shoulder in mid-December of that freshman season required surgery later that month and ended his season.

Carmody came off the bench to score five points in a game at No. 3 Maryland the following year. He suffered a knee injury driving to the basket in the closing minutes of that game, tore his left ACL on the play and was done for the season again.

“My wife Stephanie was at that game,” Rob Carmody, Robby's father, recalled. “I stayed back because Notre Dame's football coaches were in our house talking to (Robby's younger brother) Michael as part of that recruiting process.

“Robby was going up for a dunk ... the injury just happened.”

Carmody was preparing to return to action this season. During a September practice, he went up for a shot and the left knee gave out.

“The scar tissue from the previous surgery tore away from his kneecap. It just didn't hold,” Carmody's father said.

More surgery followed to “put my knee back together,” Robby said, and he hasn't played since.

“I'm in my third year here and I've still got four years of eligibility left,” he added. “It's like I've never played.

“That's how I look at it. Athletes suffer injuries and are robbed of their careers. They never play again. I know I still have my college career ahead of me. That's what keeps me going.”

And he's been going hard.

Notre Dame trainer Nixon Dourillien — who spent years as a trainer for NBA teams — has been heavily involved in Carmody's rehab over the past three years.

“Robby's in here five or six days a week,” Dourillien said of the athletic training facility. “He spends 35 to 40 minutes in the pool, gets his treatments, does his weight room work.

“All told, three or four hours of his day, almost every day, is devoted to getting himself back on the court.”

Dourillien described Carmody's attitude and approach to his rehab as “remarkable ... inspiring.”

A Fighting Irish football player has gone through a similar run of injuries and “we made sure those two guys connected with each other. They've helped each other mentally,” Dourillien said.

Carmody said the worst injury he ever incurred in high school was a tweaked ankle.

No injury ever caused him to miss anything more than a game or two.

“Playing basketball every year has been a big part of my life,” Carmody said. “Having that taken away these past couple of years has forced me to look at myself as a human being.

“I feel like I've become a better person through all of this. I've learned a lot about myself. I've learned a lot about basketball at this level, too, watching all these games from the sidelines.

“When I do get back, I'll appreciate the game more than ever. I already do,” he added.

Carmody may return to action later this season, though that isn't guaranteed.

“With the COVID thing going on, I know they're not going to rush me,” he said. “They may decide to wait until next year.”

Carmody is OK with that. A management consulting major, he may wind up working on his masters degree while helping the Irish return to prominence in basketball.

Notre Dame is 4-8 entering this weekend's game against Miami.

“I want to help get the team back into the NCAA Tournament, where the program was three years ago,” he said.

When Carmody suffered his torn ACL, his father described the aftermath as “a pretty scary thing. Here was a kid unsure if he was ever going to play again.

“(Notre Dame coach) Mike Bray put a quick end to that. He told us and Robby they weren't going to rush anything, that there was no hurry, that when he was 100 percent, Robby would get his entire Notre Dame basketball career in if he wanted to,” Rob Carmody added.

“Those were very soothing words to all of us at that time.”

Academically, it's been business as usual for Carmody. Shortly after knee surgery, he still had to take his mid-terms with the rest of his class.

“That was tough,” Carmody said. “I told the professor I had to get up and move around at times during the test, that I could only sit for so long. He was OK with that.

“My grade point is 3.2. I want to get it to 3.3 so I can make Academic All-American.”

Carmody's rehab hasn't all been due to Dourillien. Courtney McNamara is Notre Dame's physical therapist. Tony Rolinski, the program's strength and conditioning coach, is from Penn Hills.

“Robby's had a team behind him, offering support and encouragement,” Dourillien said. “And he's been a big part of that team himself.”