May 7, 2008
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech women’s basketball assistant coach Sytia Messer has been promoted to associate head coach, announced Yellow Jacket head coach MaChelle Joseph Wednesday.
“I am excited for our program and for Sytia Messer,” Joseph said. “It was an easy decision to offer her this title because of her loyalty and commitment to the program we are building together at Georgia Tech. The best is just ahead for Tech women’s basketball and Sytia will play a huge role in our future success as our associate head coach.”
“I am extremely excited to continue my career beside one of the most energetic and exciting young coaches in the nation,” Messer said. “I would like to thank MaChelle, Theresa Wenzel (Senior Woman Administrator) and Dan Radakovich (Athletic Director) for believing in me and giving me this opportunity to be the associate head coach here at Tech. I am thrilled to help this program achieve its goal of becoming a national powerhouse.”
Serving as the team’s recruiting coordinator the past four seasons, Messer’s classes have all ranked in the top-25 in the nation. The 2008-09 class, ranked as high as sixth by All-Star Girls Report, is one of the best in the nation and it includes three star athletes from the state of Georgia.
The 2007-08 class was considered one of the best recruiting classes in school history. The Yellow Jackets inked the highest-ranked player ever to sign with the program, while the freshman class includes three Street & Smith’s honorable mention All-Americans. Among the five players, forward Alex Montgomery earned a ranking of 15th in the nation by HoopGurlz.com and All-Star Girls Report. The class also included Iasia Hemingway, 20th best prospect in the nation by HoopGurlz.com, and guards Deja Foster, Shaday Woolcock and Simone Trice.
Prior to joining the Yellow Jacket program, Messer served as an assistant coach at Memphis, working with the perimeter players and team rebounding while serving as the primary recruiter of junior college players.
Messer began her coaching career at Arkansas State, where she was an assistant coach under Brian Boyer for two years. At ASU, Messer was responsible for coaching guard play and team rebounding while serving as a recruiter of junior college and high school players.
The former Razorback is best-known for her play at the University of Arkansas, where she finished her career ranked seventh on the Lady Razorbacks’ all-time scoring list with 1,379 points, 10th with 603 rebounds, sixth in free throws with 329, and fourth with 112 career three-pointers.
The 1996 PRIME Network Freshman All-America was an active member of multiple Athletes in Action teams while serving on the Student-Athlete Advisory Board.
This past spring, Messer was invited to attend The Villa 7 Consortium in Beaverton, Oregon, a group of women’s basketball assistant coaches who are considered to be the next generation of rising head coaches in the country. She is also a member of the Black Coaches Association and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.
– RamblinWreck.com –
