Mulkey Couldn’t Get The Arkansas Girl Out Of Arkansas
9/11/2018 10:16:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Messer, Now in Her 6th Year Coaching at Baylor, Going Into UA Hall of Honor.
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Coming out of the basketball hotbed of tiny Waldo, Ark., Sytia Messer had her pick of colleges, including a Louisiana Tech program that had reached the national championship game in 1994.
That's where Messer first got to know Kim Mulkey, who was an assistant coach with the Lady Techsters at the time.
"My hometown is not that far from Louisiana Tech, so she recruited me out of high school," said Messer, now in her sixth year as a Baylor assistant coach under Mulkey. "I remember my family talking about how good of a basketball player she was. And two, I remember the pigtails. When Louisiana Tech comes to the house and recruits you, that's pretty amazing. She came, and I remember I was like, 'Wow, Kim Mulkey is at my game!!"
Mulkey says Messer is "one of the best players to ever come out of the state of Arkansas." But, she couldn't convince her to leave Arkansas, because "I wanted to go to Arkansas and help build a dynasty, where Louisiana Tech was already a dynasty. I wanted to make Arkansas a Final Four team," she said.
At 5-foot-8, Messer scored 1,379 career points and pulled down 603 rebounds as one of the best rebounding guards in program history. She was a two-time team captain and fulfilled prophecy, leading the Lady Razorbacks to the 1998 Final Four while earning Most Outstanding Player honors at the NCAA West Regional.
"The reason I went to Arkansas was to help build a dynasty in my home state," said Messer, who will be inducted into the University of Arkansas Hall of Honor this weekend. "My junior year in high school, the Arkansas men won the national championship with Corliss Williamson, Scotty Thurman and Alex Dillard. Seeing how proud it made our state. At that point, Bill Clinton was running for president. It made you real proud to be in the state, so I decided to stay and help lead our team to a Final Four."
Seeded ninth in the NCAA West Region, the Lady Razorbacks rolled through Hawaii, Harvard and Kansas before upsetting second-seeded Duke, 77-72. To punch their ticket to the Final four in Kansas City.
That was where Cinderella's run ended, with an 86-58 loss to eventual national champion Tennessee in the national semifinals. That 39-0 Vols team included "The Meeks," Chamique Holdsclaw, Tamika Catchings and Semeka Randall.
"We ran across Pat Summitt and those guys, and our Cinderella dance stopped," Messer said. "It was in Kansas City, so it wasn't far from Fayetteville, and our fans were there. It was just perfect timing."
Messer's senior season did not turn out as expected, as Arkansas went just 15-14 and finished 11th in the SEC. But, the Lady Razorbacks made the most of a second chance by running the table and winning the WNIT championship with a win over Wisconsin before an all-time record of 14,163.
Hanging up her sneakers, Messer returned to finish up her bachelor's degree at Arkansas in 2000 and started her coaching career as an assistant at Arkansas State.
"I wanted to coach, I just didn't know if I wanted to do high school or college," she said. "Once I got into the college atmosphere and I remembered my experience, I thought, you know what, as a young student-athlete, a female, you need other role models. You need people to be able to teach you the ropes and also how to play the game. So, I decided to go into college and never looked back."
Sytia also had coaching stops at Memphis and Georgia Tech before being named the head coach at Tennessee Tech on Aug. 17, 2009, when she was 32 years old and just nine years out of college.
As Tennessee Tech AD Mark Wilson said in the introductory press conference, "We had to find the very best educator. We had to find the very best coach. We had to find the very best person to lead our student-athletes, and to restore the tradition of Tennessee Tech Golden Eagle women's basketball."
Messer, who compiled a three-year record of 54-41 at the Division I school in Cookeville, Tenn., said she loved being a head coach.
"When I got the team, we were picked next to last in our conference. Our first year, we won 14 games, so we flipped that thing around. And then the second year, we won 25 games and won conference, and I was coach of the year. But, I just missed this level and decided to come back to a Power 5 conference," Sytia said.
Returning to Georgia Tech, she was the Yellow Jackets' associate head coach before Coach Mulkey came calling again, this time with an offer to join the Baylor Lady Bear staff.
"I followed her career as a player and as a coach. And when I had an opening on my staff, I reached out to her, hoping she would come to Baylor and be a part of our program," Mulkey said. "She is a great recruiter and a great role model, and we are blessed to have her at Baylor."
This time, Sytia said yes.
"I had her number saved, and I was like, 'Why is Kim Mulkey calling me?''' said Messer, whose first Tennessee Tech team lost to the Lady Bears and freshman center Brittney Griner, 100-55, on Nov. 17, 2009. "We chatted for a little bit and she said, 'Hey listen, I have a position open here, and I hear good things, your name keeps coming up.' She pretty much offered me right then. And I knew this is where I wanted to be. It gave me an opportunity to get closer to Waldo, a little closer to home, plus being at a powerhouse like Baylor. It was a no-brainer."
Since coming to Baylor, she has been a part of four Elite Eights and last year's Sweet 16 with a five-year record of 167-17. And as recruiting coordinator, she's helped the Lady Bears land No. 1 classes nationally in 2015 and '17.
"I am one of the people who just love recruiting," Sytia said. "I miss it when I'm away from my team here and the coaches. But, I love going and meeting young ladies and seeing where they come from and see how they can be a fit at Baylor. That's important to me, because not everybody is a fit. So, going and meeting their families and academic counselors and high school coaches, I really like it. And I always tie it in with a good meal some sightseeing. You can't beat that."
Messer is expecting big things this season from a recruiting class that included four prep all-Americans – NaLyssa Smith, Honesty Scott-Grayson, Aquira DeCosta and Queen Egbo – and LSU grad transfer Chloe Jackson. Add to that group a returning post duo of Kalani Brown and Lauren Cox that Sytia jokingly calls, "David Robinson and Tim Duncan," and you have the makings of another Final Four team.
"We have some tough games early, and I think we're going to be tested early, which I think is good for this team," she said. "When you go to South Carolina and you go to Stanford and play UConn here prior to conference, we're going to be battle-tested. So, I'm excited about it and I see that paying with a nice run at the end of the year."
At 41, Messer said she is "comfortable here," working for Baylor and Mulkey. If another opportunity came up, though, "I know God would put me where He wants me when the timing is right."
"The thing that I love is the opportunity to coach high, elite athletes and work with Kim Mulkey every day on a day-to-day basis and being close to home. Baylor has been a blessing for me," she said.
Outside of basketball, she enjoys spending time with her family and is a self-proclaimed movie fanatic. "I love going to movies. I'm always looking up movies and seeing stars and what they're rated."
Asked what her favorite movie of all time is, she thought for maybe a half-second and said, "Bodyguard. I'm a huge Whitney Houston fan, so I've got to go with Bodyguard."
Baylor Bear Insider
Coming out of the basketball hotbed of tiny Waldo, Ark., Sytia Messer had her pick of colleges, including a Louisiana Tech program that had reached the national championship game in 1994.
That's where Messer first got to know Kim Mulkey, who was an assistant coach with the Lady Techsters at the time.
"My hometown is not that far from Louisiana Tech, so she recruited me out of high school," said Messer, now in her sixth year as a Baylor assistant coach under Mulkey. "I remember my family talking about how good of a basketball player she was. And two, I remember the pigtails. When Louisiana Tech comes to the house and recruits you, that's pretty amazing. She came, and I remember I was like, 'Wow, Kim Mulkey is at my game!!"
Mulkey says Messer is "one of the best players to ever come out of the state of Arkansas." But, she couldn't convince her to leave Arkansas, because "I wanted to go to Arkansas and help build a dynasty, where Louisiana Tech was already a dynasty. I wanted to make Arkansas a Final Four team," she said.
At 5-foot-8, Messer scored 1,379 career points and pulled down 603 rebounds as one of the best rebounding guards in program history. She was a two-time team captain and fulfilled prophecy, leading the Lady Razorbacks to the 1998 Final Four while earning Most Outstanding Player honors at the NCAA West Regional.
"The reason I went to Arkansas was to help build a dynasty in my home state," said Messer, who will be inducted into the University of Arkansas Hall of Honor this weekend. "My junior year in high school, the Arkansas men won the national championship with Corliss Williamson, Scotty Thurman and Alex Dillard. Seeing how proud it made our state. At that point, Bill Clinton was running for president. It made you real proud to be in the state, so I decided to stay and help lead our team to a Final Four."
Seeded ninth in the NCAA West Region, the Lady Razorbacks rolled through Hawaii, Harvard and Kansas before upsetting second-seeded Duke, 77-72. To punch their ticket to the Final four in Kansas City.
That was where Cinderella's run ended, with an 86-58 loss to eventual national champion Tennessee in the national semifinals. That 39-0 Vols team included "The Meeks," Chamique Holdsclaw, Tamika Catchings and Semeka Randall.
"We ran across Pat Summitt and those guys, and our Cinderella dance stopped," Messer said. "It was in Kansas City, so it wasn't far from Fayetteville, and our fans were there. It was just perfect timing."
Messer's senior season did not turn out as expected, as Arkansas went just 15-14 and finished 11th in the SEC. But, the Lady Razorbacks made the most of a second chance by running the table and winning the WNIT championship with a win over Wisconsin before an all-time record of 14,163.
Hanging up her sneakers, Messer returned to finish up her bachelor's degree at Arkansas in 2000 and started her coaching career as an assistant at Arkansas State.
"I wanted to coach, I just didn't know if I wanted to do high school or college," she said. "Once I got into the college atmosphere and I remembered my experience, I thought, you know what, as a young student-athlete, a female, you need other role models. You need people to be able to teach you the ropes and also how to play the game. So, I decided to go into college and never looked back."
Sytia also had coaching stops at Memphis and Georgia Tech before being named the head coach at Tennessee Tech on Aug. 17, 2009, when she was 32 years old and just nine years out of college.
As Tennessee Tech AD Mark Wilson said in the introductory press conference, "We had to find the very best educator. We had to find the very best coach. We had to find the very best person to lead our student-athletes, and to restore the tradition of Tennessee Tech Golden Eagle women's basketball."
Messer, who compiled a three-year record of 54-41 at the Division I school in Cookeville, Tenn., said she loved being a head coach.
"When I got the team, we were picked next to last in our conference. Our first year, we won 14 games, so we flipped that thing around. And then the second year, we won 25 games and won conference, and I was coach of the year. But, I just missed this level and decided to come back to a Power 5 conference," Sytia said.
Returning to Georgia Tech, she was the Yellow Jackets' associate head coach before Coach Mulkey came calling again, this time with an offer to join the Baylor Lady Bear staff.
"I followed her career as a player and as a coach. And when I had an opening on my staff, I reached out to her, hoping she would come to Baylor and be a part of our program," Mulkey said. "She is a great recruiter and a great role model, and we are blessed to have her at Baylor."
This time, Sytia said yes.
"I had her number saved, and I was like, 'Why is Kim Mulkey calling me?''' said Messer, whose first Tennessee Tech team lost to the Lady Bears and freshman center Brittney Griner, 100-55, on Nov. 17, 2009. "We chatted for a little bit and she said, 'Hey listen, I have a position open here, and I hear good things, your name keeps coming up.' She pretty much offered me right then. And I knew this is where I wanted to be. It gave me an opportunity to get closer to Waldo, a little closer to home, plus being at a powerhouse like Baylor. It was a no-brainer."
Since coming to Baylor, she has been a part of four Elite Eights and last year's Sweet 16 with a five-year record of 167-17. And as recruiting coordinator, she's helped the Lady Bears land No. 1 classes nationally in 2015 and '17.
"I am one of the people who just love recruiting," Sytia said. "I miss it when I'm away from my team here and the coaches. But, I love going and meeting young ladies and seeing where they come from and see how they can be a fit at Baylor. That's important to me, because not everybody is a fit. So, going and meeting their families and academic counselors and high school coaches, I really like it. And I always tie it in with a good meal some sightseeing. You can't beat that."
Messer is expecting big things this season from a recruiting class that included four prep all-Americans – NaLyssa Smith, Honesty Scott-Grayson, Aquira DeCosta and Queen Egbo – and LSU grad transfer Chloe Jackson. Add to that group a returning post duo of Kalani Brown and Lauren Cox that Sytia jokingly calls, "David Robinson and Tim Duncan," and you have the makings of another Final Four team.
"We have some tough games early, and I think we're going to be tested early, which I think is good for this team," she said. "When you go to South Carolina and you go to Stanford and play UConn here prior to conference, we're going to be battle-tested. So, I'm excited about it and I see that paying with a nice run at the end of the year."
At 41, Messer said she is "comfortable here," working for Baylor and Mulkey. If another opportunity came up, though, "I know God would put me where He wants me when the timing is right."
"The thing that I love is the opportunity to coach high, elite athletes and work with Kim Mulkey every day on a day-to-day basis and being close to home. Baylor has been a blessing for me," she said.
Outside of basketball, she enjoys spending time with her family and is a self-proclaimed movie fanatic. "I love going to movies. I'm always looking up movies and seeing stars and what they're rated."
Asked what her favorite movie of all time is, she thought for maybe a half-second and said, "Bodyguard. I'm a huge Whitney Houston fan, so I've got to go with Bodyguard."
Players Mentioned
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