LSU assistant Bob Starkey deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. Kim Mulkey explains why

Greenville, South Carolina – It wasn't the first time, and perhaps the last time, but on Friday night, Bob Starkey stood as head coach for LSUThe women's basketball team coached the Tigers to beat Florida in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament.

LSU head coach Kim Malky was there, but for most of the night she sat quietly in the middle of the bench, spending most of the evening on her own feet, calling the players for plays, assignments and pointers.

Markie has been away from the team for most of her time, grieving and dealing with what she called the “unexpected death” of her family. Mulkey did not arrive at the SEC tournament until Friday and left the mandate to prepare his team for Starkey.

But she knew the Tigers were in good hands. As Starkey was in charge, she didn't have to worry about the basketball team during her turbulent times.

“He was ready to play our team. They responded to him,” Markie said. “My week was terrible. My heart is still not good… I was where I was supposed to be.”

In the locker room at LSU in the guts of Bon Secours Wellness Arena, the Tigers soaked Starkey in the water to celebrate his 65-year-old's postseason victory. But humbled, Starkey distracted the credits.

“This was a victory for coach Markey,” Starkey said. “I had to stand up a little bit more than usual.”

Sitting next to him on the stage of the post-game press conference, Markey was praised by Starkey. She went several more steps than a typical compliment and insisted that he was being enforced.

“This guy deserves to be in the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame,” began Markie. “I've been begging for years. I have two associate head coaches in the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, but neither of them have tentatively taken the team to the Final Four. This guy did that. He worked for Sue Gunter, he worked for Prime Minister (Van), he worked for a lot of coaches.

“To take care of something personal for a week… many coaches are blessed with staff with Bob's Starkey. The reason he's not in the Hall of Fame is beyond me.”

Markey is not wrong here. It can be argued that assistant coaches do not have a career decorated like Starkey.

Originally from Charleston, West Virginia, Starkey arrived at LSU in 1990 and began working as an assistant coach for Dale Brown's staff, before reaching Coach Shaquille O'Neal. The LSU men won the SEC title and used Starkey on the bench twice in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

He then moved to women's basketball, where he coached for nearly 30 years. In its history as a women's basketball program, LSU participated in six Final Fours, with Starkey being a part of all of them. The Tigers went to the NCAA Tournament in 15 of the 16 years that Starkey has been on the Tigers' staff under various head coaches. He also participated in the staff for all three of the SEC regular season titles. Starkey also coached three great players who went through LSU: Seymone Augustus, Sylvia Fouls and Angel Rees.

Starkey also managed to get away from LSU a bit and elsewhere. I work for Gary Blair Texas A&MStarkey helped the Aggies participate in eight NCAA tournaments and win the SEC regular season title.

But going back to a part of Starkey's resume that Mulkey focused on, what he did in 2007 remains very impressive. When then-head coach Porkey Chatman resigned a few days before Madness began in March, Starkey took the reins of the program and led the Tigers to their fourth straight final four-verse. During that NCAA tournament run, Starkey's LSU team defeated Mike Carrie's West Virginia, Sue Semrau, Florida And Genoaurienma uconn C. Before falling on Vivian Stringer Rutgers.

Starkey said at the time he didn't want to be LSU head coach and remained on staff when Prime Minister Van took the job instead.

The Division I Women's College basketball team Starkey has been involved with on staff, combined with an overall record of 663-235, with a win percentage of 73.8.

When considered the total of Starkey's career, it's hard to argue with Markey when he saw the banner he developed, the team he coached in the NCAA Tournament and subsequent times, the great coach who enjoyed the benefits of having him on his staff, and the great coach who acquired the legendary players he recruited and molded. While assistant coaches rarely get hospitalized in the Hall of Fame, if someone has a resume worthy of admission, it's Starkey.

And if Starkey is being enshringed someday, there may not be a more modest coach in the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame than him.

“I've been blessed with these few times that I had to take over to have a really, really good team,” Starkey said. “The better the players, the better the coach. Coach Markie gave me a blueprint.”