11/27/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) -
By W.G. Ramirez
Special to UNLVRebels.com
For most catalysts on a college basketball team, there is a bit of flash and pizazz. The spotlight will find you.
But for Amie Callaway, one of the two upperclassmen on the UNLV Lady Rebels, it's not about the spotlight or being the star.
For instance, in Monday night's 62-43 win over Cal State San Marcos, the 6-foot-1 senior didn't score a single point in 31 minutes. She didn't have an assist either, and recorded just one block. She did, however, snatch nine rebounds.
Callaway, for all intent purposes, is beyond a catalyst for the Lady Rebels.
"Amie is a senior who just knows what she's doing, she's just solid," UNLV coach Kathy Olivier said. "She takes a lot of pride in doing things right. Amie works extremely hard, she knows our defensive system, and she's physical. Offensively she usually makes really good decisions."
Heading into the week, Callaway ranked eighth in the Mountain West with 8.3 rebounds per game, second with 2.0 blocks per contest and was tied for second with her 3-point field-goal percentage (.571).
Callaway said after sitting back and letting other players be the scorers, and shine for the Rebels, she's always been content in handling things not seen on the stat sheet. The blue collar workhorse is listed as a center, but realistically is capable of doing whatever Olivier asks of her, at any point in a game.
During an 83-63 blowout win over Pepperdine, Olivier used several different rotations through the first quarter, yet Callaway remained the one constant in the lineup.
"She's a four who creates our defensive havoc," Olivier said. "We're doing a lot of positive things, and Amie is definitely in the mix of all the positives."
Callaway and Aley Rohde are the only upperclassmen on the youthful Lady Rebels, so it's up to them to lend their experience to a young, but very talented group. Blending personalities and maintaining a positive chemistry the Lady Rebels have enjoyed during a 4-0 start is a top priority, and Callaway has taken on the role as one of the team leader nicely.
"I try to just lead by example, like at practice, where I try to show people where they're supposed to be, or go, defensive rotations they need to make. I'm kind of like the wise old woman along with Aley in practice when they don't know what they're doing, because they haven't really gotten the system down yet," Callaway said. They're really good at it, but they haven't completely got it down. We're really a good basketball team, and have the potential to get better.
We can make young mistakes, but we don't let it consume us like other teams might. Our team has an attacking mindset and we work together to do everything we do as a team, as one unit. We don't get frustrated by any pressure."
Along with Rohde, Callaway said she has also bonded with freshman Destiney Lee and sophomore twins Dakota and Dylan Gonzalez. She said creating a solid chemistry off the court with her younger teammates has helped everyone's game on the court, as the team seems to be sharing the ball well, while the girls know each other better and know when to pass it to certain people and when not to pass it.
Dylan Gonzalez agreed, saying in the women's game it does help to have good relationships off the court because it establishes trust amongst one another. The bonds have helped, Gonzalez said, because while nobody sees things like that, or how they are with one another at practice, the players appreciate one another much more due to their hard work.
And, according to Olivier and Gonzalez, anyone would be hard pressed to find someone who works harder than Callaway.
"Amie is a silent assassin, and I think people really underestimate her," Gonzalez said. "She isn't flashy and she isn't ever trying to do too much. The one thing she is really consistent with is working her butt off. Amie is going to go in there and work hard, and that's something that K.O. really relies on, and that's she's confident that Amie is always going to bring to the table.
"We know that she's never going to slack on the energy. And so that's something that she consistently brings and definitely helps to keep the team together."
Callaway and the Lady Rebels return to the court this weekend, in the Lady Rebel Round Up, beginning Saturday against George Mason at the Cox Pavilion at noon.
