"I am very grateful I had the opportunity to play
three years with Erika Messam. Erika was such a great player, she made everyone
around her that much better. The talent, aggression, and skill she brought to
the court was just completely unmatched. I'll never forget playing pick up and
always having to guard her. She would talk so much trash to everyone so we
would all get mad and play harder. Some days those pick up games felt like the
America East championship. No matter how hard we competed against each other on the court
we always remained great friends and that is something I will always cherish.
The impact Erika made at the University of Hartford will be talked about for a
very long time and I can't think of anyone more deserving to be inducted into
the Hall of Fame."
- Ikea Witt, Class of 2007
My fondest memories of playing basketball with Erika Messam were those rare instances in practice when I actually thought I'd tired her out and might be able to accomplish something...anything! Like get a pass off, drive towards the basket, maybe hit a shot, or steal the ball from her when she was on offense.
You have to understand I was
often Erika's personal practice partner who got the glorious job of "trying"
(notice the quotes) to stop her. My mentality most practices was to attempt to
cheat into those passing lanes or "first" options in a play, as I
knew every play our red team (starters) were attempting to run. This worked on
some teammates...but not Erika.
She was the queen of giving a
defender "false hope" because she'd put her hands on her hips and
breath heavy and look all tired after scoring or doing a ton of work to get a
teammate a wide open shot and you'd start to think, "Okay, I have a chance
now...she's tired."
Then Coach Rizz would switch
things up and put her on the white team, which I was always excited about no
matter how beat she looked. Because that was the thing about Erika Messam, no
matter what team she was on they would win...and she loved a challenge! Four
starters on the red and her with the white team and she'd start going off (yes,
this is right after her hands were on her hips and she looked exhausted).
The best part about being
on the same team with Erika was how good she'd make you feel when you did
something well. There was no bigger trash talker on our team, but there was
also no bigger cheerleader. If you did something well she just about bowled you
over with a hug (or one of her stinging high fives) and you couldn't help but
grin from ear to ear because she also let you know when you were messing up (in
an encouraging...motivating...get it together kind of way).
She read people well, knew how to
motivate and totally lead by example on the floor. There wasn't anyone who
played with the kind of tenacity that Erika did and we all respected her for
it. That's probably why Coach Rizz made her our captain. She was a tenacious,
competitive, winner...and we certainly did win during her time at Hartford I
couldn't think of a more deserving person to go into the Hall of Fame.
Congratulations E!
Friday, May 9, 2014 -
Erika was an unwavering teammate. No matter what was going on in her world, she kept it off the court and left her heart on the court. I couldn't think of a more deserving individual for this award-a wonderful player, teammate, mother and person. Like many of the players and friends at Hartford, I consider her a forever friend. With life after Hartford, she has been a sister, mentor and friend. From post player to point guard, much love, respect and honor for this achievement.
- Tanika Price, Class of 2005
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