www.ncataggies.com/Womensbasketball/2009-10%20ARTICLES/0aggiesvcalvin.htmCALVIN SHOWS LEADERSHIP IN WNIT
GAME TIME: 7 P.M.
LISTEN LIVE: A&T WBB vs. MIAMI MIAMI – Leadership. It is a word often thrown out by coaches without a defined meaning.
Does it mean someone who leads by example on the playing surface? Is it someone who is vocal? Does it always have to be the best player on a particular team?
For the last two weeks, North Carolina A&T head women’s basketball coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs believes she is getting closer to finding what it is she is looking for in a leader. As the Aggies (23-10) head into their third round WNIT game at the University of Miami Thursday night at 7, Bibbs’ leader is looking a lot like a freshman named Amber Calvin.
“I’ve always said that leadership can’t only come from the coaches,’’ said Bibbs. “I believe it has to come from their peers. I think that kind of player knows exactly what to say and do to get a team going.”
Bibbs took notice of Calvin during the Aggies MEAC Tournament quarterfinal game against S.C. State on March 10. With the top-seeded Aggies trailing by six with less than eight minutes remaining in the game, Calvin came to the bench with her teammates during a media timeout.
In a fiery tone, she began to encourage her teammates to play better. She ended her speech with the declaration that the Aggies would win the game. They didn’t win thanks to an unbelievable last-second 3-pointer by S.C. State’s Whitney Wiley. But the Aggies’ play was more inspired over last seven minutes, and they actually led by three with 50 seconds remaining in the game.
“Amber Calvin is a winner,’’ said Bibbs, about the 5-foot-8 Fayetteville, N.C., native. “She is a young lady who thrives off of being successful.”
After the Aggies shocking loss to S.C. State, it was unsure what type of performance the Aggies would put forth eight days later in their opening round WNIT game at Wake Forest. Calvin’s play signaled early the Aggies were over not being in the NCAA tournament for the second straight year.
Calvin hit two technical free throws before the game even started because Wake Forest’s backboards didn’t meet NCAA regulations. Once the game started, she followed up a Jaleesa Sams 3-pointer by launching back-to-back 3-pointers through the net without hesitation to give the Aggies an 11-0 lead. The Demon Deacons never recovered.
Days later, she took the initiative to contact Bibbs in search of game film on the Aggies second round opponent, the Charlotte 49ers. It must have helped. She scored a season-high 24 points, hit all seven of her free throws and knocked down three 3-pointers. When the 49ers cut the Aggies 11-point lead to two, it was Calvin who came out of a timeout to halt Charlotte’s momentum by hitting a 15-footer that seemed to deflate the 49ers.
In two games, she has scored 43 points, shot 7-for-12 from 3-point range and 13-for-24 from the floor.
“I want to keep playing hard because I know it’s a big deal for the program and the university,’’ said Calvin. “What we’re doing has never been done before. As a freshman, I feel blessed to be a part of this.”
Calvin became a part of the Aggie family following a superb career at South View High School. She led South View to a state championship as a sophomore, and earned the adoring eyes of some of the top schools in the country. A torn ACL as a junior turned many of those eyes away.
But N.C. A&T’s eyes stayed wide open. Calvin eventually signed with the Aggies because the school never stopped recruiting her. Plus, fellow Fayetteville native and former AAU teammate Ta’Wuana “Tweet” Cook was having a lot of success as an Aggie.
“She’s like my sister,’’ said Cook. “I love her so much, so I’m harder on her than any of my other teammates because I want her to keep what we have here going. She has what it takes to do that.”