Karl Towns was named the New Jersey Gatorade Player of the Year.

Towns, a 7-foot sophomore, averaged 20.6 points, 14.0 rebounds and 5.3 blocked shots per game this past season in leading St. Joseph’s to a 27-5 record.

“This is just an incredible honor, something I’m extremely proud of,’’ said Towns. “Just like a game, this was a team effort. I have to thank my parents for supporting me, especially for pushing me to be the best I could be. I have to thank coach [Dave Turco] for all his great gameplans and his coaching ability, the Dominican team, Mr. [Jerry] Smith our athletic director and of course my teammates for allowing me to go out and play my game. You can’t win an award like this without a great supporting cast.’’

Towns maintains a 4.2 grade point average while taking several accelerated classes.

“I’ve coached a lot of great players and been around a lot of great kids. But when you combine the both, Karl is the best. He’s special on and off the court,” Turco said. “When we go to a lot of big events, they cater to Karl. But when they ask him what he wants, the first thing he will do is look at my son Andrew and say ‘do you want a hot dog? What do you want?’ He’s a one-of-a-kind person.’’