Recordpub.com - Athlete of the Week: Garfield's C.J. Carlisle

By Colin Harris
Record-Courier staff writer
GARRETTSVILLE - While Mogadore and Rootstown were preseason favorites in the Portage Trail Conference County Division, both find themselves looking up at the upcoming Garfield G-Men.
There's a number of reasons why Garfield is undefeated (6-0, 5-0 PTC County) heading into the winter break after finishing last season with a 6-15 record.
However, senior guard C.J. Carlisle's performance sure jumps to the top of the list.
A point guard the previous two seasons, the growth of sophomore Justine Eakin has allowed Carlisle to grow into a more "jack-of-all-trades" role in the G-Men offense.
And grow she has.
A gifted playmaker, Carlisle is averaging nearly 11 points per game, while using her 5-foot-11 size to pull down 6.7 rebounds per game.
"Of the 10 years I've coached basketball, she fits into the top 10 players I've coached," said Garfield head coach Aaron Gilbert. "Just based on her attitude, she represents the mindset of this whole team.
"When you take someone, who for two years had the ball in her hands, and then ask her to play a different role, that takes a special player," Gilbert added.
A two-sport athlete in basketball and track, Carlisle decided to add a fall sport to her list when she came out for the G-Men soccer team this fall.
Despite it being her only season at the varsity level, Carlisle saw major minutes as a goalkeeper for the G-Men. Her performance defending the net played a large role in a Garfield team that advanced to the district semifinals.
"I think I was just bored," joked Carlisle, as to why she came out for the soccer team. "I wanted to play a fall sport, and I was hopeful that soccer could help with my conditioning for basketball and track."
Gilbert echoed his star's observation, pointing to the headaches her active play has caused opposing guards.
"I really do think her time as a goalie has helped her reaction time this year," Gilbert said. "She's leading our team in steals (3.2 per game) and a lot of that has to do with the reflexes she honed in the net."
Over the summer, the school's girls basketball team made a trip to UNC Wilmington to participate in an off-season tournament. While the team was there to play ball, the real purpose of the trip was to build camaraderie after a tough 2007-08 season.
According to Carlisle, the trip - an idea spawned by Gilbert's wife - could be considered a resounding success.
"The last couple of years, it would just be a few players who got together during the summer to work out," Carlisle said. "For this trip, we traveled as a team, and I think that really brought us together.
"Because of our experience (in North Carolina), we trust each other, we work out together, and we really feel comfortable on the court with each other. That's the difference between previous years," she added.
Despite Garfield's early success, Carlisle and her coach have kept things in the proper prospective.
As the G-Men prepare to take the court in upcoming games, the senior says she knows there's a lot of work left to be done before any net gets cut down at their gym.
"What we accomplished in the first six games is great, but that's over with," Carlisle said. "It has been exciting to play in important games and have success, so we're going to work to try to keep everything going."

Colin Harris can be reached at charris@recordpub.com