So much of basketball these days is about guard play.
Jack-rabbit backcourt players who can crack presses, run the floor, beat you in transition, defend on the perimeter and knock down the 3-pointer.
And all that is fine and dandy, of course.
But if you don’t have an inside presence, and if you don’t board, own the glass and dominate in the paint, all that other stuff is just window dressing.
Say hello to Mechanicsburg’s Cecily Carl.
The Wildcats’ 6-3 junior can board, owns the glass and dominates in the paint for Mechanicsburg, which hits this week 10-2 overall and, more importantly, is 7-1 in the division and is in a virtual tie for first place in the Mid-Penn Keystone with Palmyra (8-1).
FYI: Palmyra visits Mechanicsburg on Friday, so go ahead and circle that one.
Here’s the cool thing about Carl’s game:
Not only does she use her 6-3 frame to pluck boards and swap elbows in the lane, but she’s also got a sweet midrange jumper and she can use her left (off) hand when she’s stuck in tight spaces and is trying to get a shot off.
And thanks to working on perimeter play in the summer while making the rounds on the AAU circuit, Carl can run the floor and make plays like the jack-rabbit guards we were talking about.
Colleges — big Division I colleges — have noticed.
Carl has eight scholarship offers in her back pocket; Xavier, from the Big East, Delaware, Loyola (Md.) and Lehigh are among her suitors, and Carl hopes to make a decision later in the spring.
Someone will be lucky to inherit her services.
Through 12 games this season, Carl is averaging a team-best 17.3 points with eight 3s. She’s scored in double digits in all but one game, and she’s scored 20 or more points in a game five times, including 26 points on Dec. 13 in a 9-point win over Red Land.
In Friday’s 37-21 win over Hershey — which upset previously undefeated Palmyra last Wednesday — Carl popped in 14 points and she was all over the glass.
And — showing off her balance and all-around game — she stepped back and swished a pair of midrange jumpers in the fourth quarter to ice it.
At 6-3, Carl has been dominating smaller posts in the paint. And with improving guard-like skills, she’s been a match-up nightmare when she steps out of the paint.
End result: Mechanicsburg — which also features perimeter threats Hannah Brown (8.3, 15 3s) and Meghan Ross (7.3, 15 3s), floor leader Jordan Hertz (6.3) and dirty-worker Morgan Vasiliu (2.3) — is tied for first place, and should get a really, really big first-place showdown game vs. Palmyra later this week.
Again, guard play is great.
But if you want to watch someone who knows their way around the paint and the glass, give Carl a look-see.
Major DI programs already are.