Carmi Eberle Post Falls Year: Sophomore Sport: Basketball Position: Point Guard

Carmi Eberle possesses the necessary basketball skills to be a successful point guard. That was evident in this, her first season at Post Falls after she transferred from Falls Christian Academy, where she started as a freshman.

She dribbles well. She penetrates well. She passes well. And, although streaky at times, she shoots well.

But she also possessed an intangible vital to a point guard and something that can’t be coached into a player. She was fearless.

She is also feisty, a quality North Idaho basketball fans haven’t seen in a point guard since Jennifer Kerns led Coeur d’Alene and Lake City to state championships.

It would have been understandable if, in her first trip to state last week, she had struggled. The bright lights and open court in the Idaho Center - similar to the Arena in Spokane - can have an odd effect on first-time visitors.

Something akin to standing with your mouth wide open in awe.

Eberle suffered a little of that in Post Falls’ opener, but she bounced back with key contributions of 21 and 19 points in the final two games as the Trojans took home the third-place trophy.

She’s likely tired of reading that she’s tiny at 5-foot-2. She was the shortest player in the tourney, but few came up with bigger efforts.

“She’d played on our summer league team in Spokane the last two years, so I knew she was very talented, gifted,” Post Falls coach Chris Johnson said. “She definitely played above expectation this year. No one expected her to make the type of contributions she did.”

Another gift that impressed Johnson was Eberle’s ability to break down opponents’ full-court pressure.

“She just had a fearless attitude,” Johnson said. “I never saw fear in her eyes. Maybe at times she was too intense, but she’s an incredible competitor.”

And here’s the wonderful news for Johnson: Eberle will be around for two more years.

“She knows her game is still improving,” he said. “The thing I’m excited about is that her decision-making will improve dramatically in the next two years. That’s such a crucial part of the game for a point guard. And she made a lot of progress there this season.”

Eberle thinks she improved as a shooter. Playing at a higher level (A-1 over A-4) pushed her as well as being surrounded by talented players.

“I didn’t improve much last year (at Falls),” she said. “Many times I played at the level of the competition. But I improved a lot this season.”

The Trojans’ top player, Janelle Ruen, gave Eberle a lot of praise for holding up under some pressure - particularly from her teammates.

“We were always in her face, pointing out mistakes; we rode her hard at times,” Ruen said. “But she did really well.”

Eberle likes the prospects for next year and thereafter.

“We’ll miss the seniors, but we basically have our whole team back,” she said. “We’ll have a good chance to get back (to state) and win it all.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo