View source for Sue Wicks

{{Short description|American basketball player and aquaculture farmer }}
{{see also| Susan Wicks}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name            = Sue Wicks
| image           = Sue Wicks.jpg
| caption         = Wicks being honored at a Rutgers-UConn game
| number          = 23
| position        = [[Forward (basketball)|Forward]]
| height_ft       = 6
| height_in       = 3
| weight_lb       = 174
| birth_date      = {{birth date and age|1966|11|26}}
| birth_place     = [[Center Moriches, New York]], U.S.
| high_school     = Center Moriches<br/>(Center Moriches, New York)
| college         = [[Rutgers Scarlet Knights women's basketball|Rutgers]] (1984–1988)
| draft_year      = 1997
| draft_round     = 1
| draft_pick      = 6
| draft_team      = [[New York Liberty]]
| draft_league    = WNBA
| career_start    = 1997
| career_end      = 2002
| years1          = {{WNBA Year|1997}}–{{WNBA Year|2002}}
| team1           = [[New York Liberty]]
| highlights      = 
* [[WNBA All-Star Game|WNBA All-Star]] ([[2000 WNBA All-Star Game|2000]])
* [[Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award]] (2001)
* [[Naismith College Player of the Year]] (1988)
* [[USBWA Women's National Player of the Year|USBWA National Player of the Year]] (1988)
* 4× [[Women's Basketball Coaches Association|Kodak]] All-American (1985–1988)
* All-American – [[United States Basketball Writers Association|USBWA]] (1988)

| womensHOF = sue-wicks
| bbr_wnba        = wickssu01w
| medaltemplates  =
{{MedalSport | Women's [[basketball]] }}
{{MedalCountry | {{flagu|United States}} }}
{{MedalCompetition|[[USA Women's Pan American Team|Pan American]]| Team Competition}}
{{MedalGold|[[USA Women's Pan American Team|1987 Indianapolis]]| Team}}
}}
<!-- Unsourced image removed: [[Image:wicks99.jpg|thumb|Sue Wicks taking a jump shot for the New York Liberty]] --><!-- FAIR USE of wicks99.jpg: see image description page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:wicks99.jpg for rationale -->
'''Susan Joy Wicks''' (born November 26, 1966) is a former [[basketball]] player in the [[Women's National Basketball Association]] (WNBA). She played with the [[New York Liberty]] from 1997 to 2002.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Whiteside|first=Kelly|title=At 25, Liberty Celebrate 'Magical Moment' in Women's Basketball|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/22/sports/new-york-liberty-anniversary.html|access-date=2021-11-23|website=New York Times|date=22 August 2021 }}</ref> Wicks was inducted into the [[Women's Basketball Hall of Fame]] in 2013.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Sue Wicks|url=https://www.wbhof.com/famers/sue-wicks/|access-date=2021-11-23|website=Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame|language=en}}</ref>

==Early years==
Born in [[Center Moriches, New York]], Wicks played for [[Rutgers University]] from 1984 to 1988. While at Rutgers, she was named a Kodak All-American in 1986, 1987 and 1988, and in 1988 she won the Naismith, U.S. Basketball Writers Association, Women's Basketball News Service and Street & Smith's National Player of the Year awards. She was Player of the Year in the Atlantic 10 Conference in 1986, 1987 and 1988, winning the Atlantic 10 Tournament MVP award in 1986 and 1988, and sharing it in 1987. She also was named to All-Regional Teams in the NCAA tournament in 1986 and 1987. She holds the Rutgers records for points scored (2,655), rebounds (1,357), scoring average (21.2 ppg), rebounding average (10.9 rpg), field goals made (1,091) and attempted (2,099), free throws made (473) and attempted (641), and blocked shots (293). The scoring and rebounding totals are records for a male or female player at Rutgers.

She was a [[Gold Medal|gold medalist]] in the 1987 [[Pan-American Games]].<ref name="1987 Pan Am"/>

Following her college career, she played professionally in Italy, Japan, Spain and Israel before the WNBA was founded. In 1997, she was signed for the inaugural WNBA season by the New York Liberty, to fill the role of back-up center. The Liberty played at the [[WNBA Finals|WNBA championship]] game, losing to the [[Houston Comets]], 65–51.

==Career statistics==
{{WNBA player statistics legend}}

===WNBA===
====Regular season====
{{WNBA player statistics start}}
|-
| align="left" | [[1997 WNBA season|1997]]
| align="left" | [[1997 New York Liberty season|New York]]
|28||0||11.9||35.5||'''28.6'''||66.7||3.4||1.0||0.6||0.6||1.6||3.6	
|-
| align="left" | [[1998 WNBA season|1998]]
| align="left" | [[1998 New York Liberty season|New York]]
|30||0||14.8||43.0||0.0||'''80.0'''||2.8||1.2||0.5||0.3||1.6||4.3	
|-
| align="left" | [[1999 WNBA season|1999]]
| align="left" | [[1999 New York Liberty season|New York]]
|'''32'''||'''30'''||'''29.3'''||40.3||13.3||61.5||'''7.0'''||'''1.4'''||'''1.3'''||'''1.3'''||2.0||'''6.8'''	
|-
| align="left" | [[2000 WNBA season|2000]]
| align="left" | [[2000 New York Liberty season|New York]]
|'''32'''||12||21.3||38.5||20.0||72.6||4.7||0.7||0.8||1.2||1.6||4.9
|-
| align="left" | [[2001 WNBA season|2001]]
| align="left" | [[2001 New York Liberty season|New York]]
|30||3||20.1||'''46.9'''||0.0||67.3||4.6||1.2||1.2||1.0||1.4||5.2
|-
| align="left" | [[2002 WNBA season|2002]]
| align="left" | [[2002 New York Liberty season|New York]]
|30||0||14.3||34.3||0.0||66.7||3.4||0.5||0.7||0.5||'''1.0'''||2.2	
|-
| align="left" | Career
| align="left" | 6 years, 1 team
|182||45||18.8||40.2||13.2||69.4||4.3||1.0||0.9||0.9||1.5||4.5	
{{S-end}}

====Playoffs====
{{WNBA player statistics start}}
|-
| align="left" | [[1997 WNBA season|1997]]
| align="left" | [[1997 New York Liberty season|New York]]
|2||0||5.5||33.3||0.0||0.0||2.0||0.5||0.5||0.5||1.5||2.0	
|-
| align="left" | [[1999 WNBA season|1999]]
| align="left" | [[1999 New York Liberty season|New York]]
|6||'''6'''||'''29.0'''||37.0||40.0||66.7||'''6.8'''||'''1.7'''||'''1.0'''||1.0||'''0.7'''||'''7.0'''	
|-
| align="left" | [[2000 WNBA season|2000]]
| align="left" | [[2000 New York Liberty season|New York]]
|7||0||18.7||34.6||'''100.0'''||'''100.0'''||3.9||0.4||'''1.0'''||'''1.3'''||'''0.7'''||3.3
|-
| align="left" | [[2001 WNBA season|2001]]
| align="left" | [[2001 New York Liberty season|New York]]
|6||0||19.7||44.4||0.0||80.0||3.3||0.8||0.3||1.0||1.3||4.7
|-
| align="left" | [[2002 WNBA season|2002]]
| align="left" | [[2002 New York Liberty season|New York]]
|'''8'''||0||12.0||'''50.0'''||'''100.0'''||85.7||1.5||0.3||0.1||0.5||0.8||2.6
|-
| align="left" | Career
| align="left" | 5 years, 1 team
|29||6||18.3||39.5||57.1||80.0||3.6||0.7||0.6||0.9||0.9||4.1	
{{S-end}}

===College===
Source<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/w_basketball_RB/misc/wbbfinest.pdf|title=Women's Basketball Finest|website=fs.ncaa.org|access-date=2017-10-03}}</ref>
{{NBA player statistics legend}}
{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!Team
!GP
!Points
!FG%
!3P%
!FT%
!RPG
!APG
!SPG
!BPG
!PPG
|-
|1985
|Rutgers
|28
|417
|50.7%
|NA
|60.5%
|8.8
|1.5
|NA
|NA
|14.9
|-
|1986
|Rutgers
|'''33'''
|719
|54.3%
|NA
|72.7%
|10.1
|2.5
|NA
|NA
|21.8
|-
|1987
|Rutgers
|'''33'''
|726
|50.1%
|NA
|75.8%
|'''12.2'''
|2.5
|NA
|NA
|22.0
|-
|1988
|Rutgers
|31
|'''793'''
|'''52.6%'''
|0.0%
|'''81.2%'''
|12.1
|'''2.6'''
|'''2.6'''
|'''2.5'''
|style="background:#D3D3D3"|'''25.6'''°
|-
|Career
|
|125
|2655
|52.0%
|0.0%
|73.8%
|10.9
|2.3
|0.6
|0.6
|21.2
|}

==WNBA career==

On April 28, 1997, Wicks was drafted with the 6th overall pick of the [[1997 WNBA draft]] to the [[New York Liberty]]. She would go on to play 6 seasons in the [[WNBA]], all 6 of them being a member of the Liberty.<ref name="playerfile">{{cite web | url=http://www.wnba.com/playerfile/sue_wicks/ | title=Sue Wicks Player Info | access-date=June 1, 2014 | publisher=WNBA | website=wnba.com | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141229064057/http://www.wnba.com/playerfile/sue_wicks/ | archive-date=December 29, 2014 }}</ref> Her debut game was played on June 21, 1997, in a 67–57 victory over the [[Los Angeles Sparks]] where she recorded 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal and 1 block.

Wicks mostly came off the bench for the Liberty but did start 45 of 182 regular season games, including 30 starts (out of 32 games played) in 1999. Wicks starting in 1999 was due in part to her defensive skills. She developed into a fan favorite and was voted by the fans as a starter in the [[2000 WNBA All-Star Game|2000 WNBA all-star game]]. In 2000, she received the WNBA's top award for sportsmanship, the [[Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award]].

In 1997, 1999 and 2000, Wicks and the Liberty reached the [[WNBA Finals]], only to be beaten by the [[Houston Comets]] every time. In 2002, Wicks and the Liberty returned to the Finals again, but this time, they lost to [[Lisa Leslie]] and the [[Los Angeles Sparks]]. After being defeated in the 2002 Finals, Wicks would not play in the WNBA again, as she announced her retirement on April 29, 2003.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.wnba.com/archive/wnba/liberty/news/wicks_retires_030429.html | title=LIBERTY: Liberty Forward Sue Wicks Retires }}</ref> Her final WNBA game was Game 2 of the 2002 Finals on August 31, 2002. The Liberty lost the championship game to the Sparks 66 - 69 with Wicks recording 2 points, 4 rebounds and 1 steal.

In 182 WNBA games played, Wicks scored 823 points, for a total of 4.5 points per game, had 182 assists for one assist per game, recovered 788 rebounds, for a total of 4.3 per game, and had 158 blocks, for a total of 0.90 blocks per game. She finished her WNBA career as the number eight leader of all times in shots blocked.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wnba.com/playerfile/sue_wicks/bio.html |title=Sue Wicks Bio |publisher=WNBA.com |date=1998-04-26 |access-date=2013-12-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523232011/http://www.wnba.com/playerfile/sue_wicks/bio.html |archive-date=2013-05-23 }}</ref>

==Personal life==
Wicks was one of the few players willing to discuss sexual orientation in the [[WNBA]] during her career. She said, "I can't say how many players are gay ... but it would be easier to count the straight ones."<ref name=VV>{{Citation
  | last = Solomon
  | first = Alisa
  | title = Sue Wicks's Forward Behavior
  | newspaper = [[The Village Voice]]
  | page = 2
  | date = August 8, 2000
  | url = http://www.villagevoice.com/2000-08-08/news/sue-wicks-s-forward-behavior/
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081023004323/http://www.villagevoice.com/2000-08-08/news/sue-wicks-s-forward-behavior/
  | url-status = dead
  | archive-date = October 23, 2008
  | access-date =February 8, 2010
}}
</ref> She also said she found it "annoying" that the league almost exclusively promoted those who were mothers. "I like it when they give insight into athletes, and I think it's great when they say, 'Here's a player and her husband and baby.' But I'd love to see a couple of women profiled, too, especially if they had a great, solid relationship, just to show that in a positive light."<ref name=VV />

In 2002, she came out as gay, making her the first openly gay person playing in the WNBA.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Thc-CgAAQBAJ&dq=%22first+lesbian%22+wnba&pg=PA76 ''Sport in a Changing World'', by Howard Nixon II, published by Routledge on July 24, 2015, pg. 76. Google Books, Accessed 17 June 2022.]</ref>

==Coaching career==
Since retiring from professional basketball, Wicks formed an all-girls basketball camp in [[New York City]]. In 2004, she completed her bachelor's degree at Rutgers and was hired as the Coordinator of Operations for the Rutgers women's basketball team. In 2005, she was named an assistant coach of the team.

Wicks was inducted into the [[Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame]] on Long Island in the Basketball Category with the Class of 1991. She was inducted into the Rutgers Basketball Hall of Fame in 1994<ref name=PS>{{Citation
 |last        = Henson
 |first       = Joaquin
 |title       = Ex-WNBA star joins Spoelstra's RP tour
 |newspaper   = [[The Philippine Star]]
 |date        = July 9, 2009
 |url         = http://www.philstar.com/articleprinterfriendly.aspx?articleid=485130
 |access-date  = February 8, 2010
}}{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
</ref> and was inducted into the university's Hall of Distinguished Alumni in 2005. She is one of only two Rutgers women's basketball players to have her jersey retired.

In July 2006, she became the Assistant Coach for the women's basketball team at [[Saint Francis College]] in [[Brooklyn, New York]].<ref name=PS /> After leaving her assistant coaching position at Saint Francis College, Wicks said that she felt that being an out lesbian was an overwhelming liability in getting a job as a women's basketball coach.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/news/story?page=Mag15unhealthyclimate | title=Unhealthy climate | date=January 26, 2011 | access-date=June 1, 2014 | first1=Luke | first2=Kate | last1=Cyphers | last2=Fagan | publisher=ESPN | website=[[ESPN]] }}</ref>

==Hall of Fame==

Wicks was inducted in the [[Women's Basketball Hall of Fame]] in June 2013.<ref name=":0" /> She did not have a prepared speech, but spoke extemporaneously, thanking [[Pat Summitt]] for her leadership in the formation of the Hall of Fame.<ref name="WBHOF"/> Her credentials included selection as a Kodak All-American three times,  and the record-holder of career points and rebounds at Rutgers, records which had not been surpassed by any male or female players at Rutgers at the time of the induction. She also played professionally in the [[WNBA]] and was on the gold medal-winning [[USA Basketball]] Pan-American Games team in 1987.<ref name="Inductees"/>

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=

<ref name="1987 Pan Am">{{cite web|title=Tenth Pan American Games -- 1987|date=June 10, 2010|url=http://www.usab.com/history/pan-am-womens/tenth-pan-american-games-1987-1.aspx|publisher=USA Basketball|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907035355/http://www.usab.com/history/pan-am-womens/tenth-pan-american-games-1987-1.aspx|archive-date=7 September 2015|url-status=dead|access-date=15 October 2015}}</ref>

<ref name="WBHOF">{{cite web|last=Cornelius|first=Maria M. |date=June 9, 2013|title=Six enter Women's Basketball HOF|url=https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/9357783/women-basketball-hall-fame-inducts-six|publisher=ESPN|access-date=9 Jun 2013}}</ref>

<ref name="Inductees">{{cite web|date=June 7, 2013|title=They're the class of 2013|url=https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/9353584/women-basketball-hall-fame-inductees|publisher=ESPN|access-date=9 Jun 2013}}</ref>

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/1739051/2020/04/13/wnba-pioneer-sue-wicks-is-back-home-in-the-mud-loving-life-as-an-oyster-farmer/

https://sports.yahoo.com/unfinished-business-shines-light-on-new-york-liberty-and-wnb-as-history-from-sue-wicks-to-brittney-griner-150043248.html

https://theathletic.com/2807673/2021/09/07/from-a-political-activist-to-a-pioneer-dunker-the-top-25-most-influential-wnba-players-2807673/?amp=1

}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051203213334/http://www.suewicks.com/index.htm Official Site]
* [http://www.wnba.com/player/sue-wicks/ WNBA Player File page for Sue Wicks]
* [http://www.wnba.com/liberty/news/wicks_retires_030429.html 2003 WNBA Press Release on Sue Wicks' retirement]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060912095937/http://athletics.stfranciscollege.edu/News/wbasket/2006/7/31/sue%20wicks.asp?path=wbasket St. Francis Hires Sue Wicks]

{{navboxes|list=
{{1997 WNBA draft}}
{{Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award}}
{{Naismith Player of the Year women}}
{{USBWA National Player of the Year – Women}}
{{New York Liberty Ring of Honor}}
{{Women's Basketball Hall of Fame}}
}}
* https://www.newsday.com/sports/basketball/liberty/sue-wicks-pride-month-jts0up5v
* https://northforker.com/2022/10/this-oyster-farmers-got-game-basketball-legend-sue-wicks-follows-her-familys-ties-to-the-long-island-waterfront/
* https://www.outsports.com/platform/amp/2019/6/14/18667309/stonewall-50-pride-athlete-sue-wicks-lgbtq-wnba
* https://www.curvemag.com/blog/sports/top-influential-lesbian-athletes/
* [https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/1739051/2020/04/13/wnba-pioneer-sue-wicks-is-back-home-in-the-mud-loving-life-as-an-oyster-farmer/ theathletic.com]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wicks, Sue}}
[[Category:1966 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:All-American college women's basketball players]]
[[Category:American women's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:American women's basketball players]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:Basketball players at the 1987 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in basketball]]
[[Category:Centers (basketball)]]
[[Category:LGBTQ basketball players]]
[[Category:LGBTQ people from New York (state)]]
[[Category:American lesbian sportswomen]]
[[Category:New York Liberty draft picks]]
[[Category:New York Liberty players]]
[[Category:People from Center Moriches, New York]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Brookhaven, New York]]
[[Category:Basketball players from Suffolk County, New York]]
[[Category:Rutgers Scarlet Knights women's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Rutgers Scarlet Knights women's basketball players]]
[[Category:WNBA All-Stars]]
[[Category:United States women's national basketball team players]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportswomen]]