Danny Robison Named Gatorade Montana Boys Basketball Player of the Year

CHICAGO (March 22, 2012) — In its 27th year of honoring the nation's best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with ESPNHS, today announced Danny Robison of Billings West (Billings, Mont.) as its 2011-12 Gatorade Montana Boys Basketball Player of the Year. Robison is the second Gatorade Montana Boys Basketball Player of the Year to be chosen from Billings West High School.

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court, distinguishes Robison as Montana's best high school boys basketball player. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year award to be announced in March, Robison joins an elite alumni association of past state boys basketball award winners, including Dwight Howard (2003-04, SW Atlanta Christian Academy, Ga.), Chauncey Billups (1993-94 & 1994-95, George Washington HS, Colo.), Jason Kidd (1991-92, St. Joseph Notre Dame HS, Calif.), Paul Pierce (1994-95, Inglewood HS, Calif.) and Chris Bosh (2001-02, Lincoln HS, Texas).

The 6-foot-8, 235-pound senior post led the Golden Bears to a 22-1 record and the Class AA state championship this past season. Robison recorded 19 points and seven rebounds in the 61-48, title-clinching victory against Kalispell High, capturing tournament Most Valuable Player honors. A returning Second Team All-Eastern Conference selection, Robison averaged 17.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He shot 69.3 percent from the field, 37.5 percent from 3-point range and 71.3 percent from the free throw line.

Robison has maintained an A average in the classroom and ranks in the top 10 of his graduating class. In addition to donating his time to the National Honor Society, he has volunteered locally on behalf of his church's youth group, a retirement facility and the Trading Cards anti-drug campaign.

"Robison was the most dominant player in Class AA this season, hands down," said Wes Holmquist, head coach at Bozeman High. "He is an absolute force. He shot 70 percent from the field, and once he gets the ball he is darn near impossible to stop. Not only can he score from anywhere on the floor, he is a good passer and a very good rebounder. He is physical, and his presence is unmistakable when he is on the floor. He is the best player on the best team in the state, no question."

Robison has signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball on scholarship at Montana State University this fall.

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by ESPNHS and the Gatorade high school sports leadership team, which work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

Two-time winner Robison joins Gatorade Montana Boys Basketball Players of the Year Josh Huestis (2008-09 & 2009-10, C.M. Russell), Andy Garland (2007-08, Sentinel High School), and Derek Selvig (2006–07, Dawson County) among the state's list of former award winners.

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