They are running out of Halls of Fame in which to induct Sue Wicks. She is already in the Suffolk County/Nassau County/New York state high school/Rutgers/New Jersey/New York City Halls of Fame, and in 2013 she was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. She was 1988 national POY at Rutgers, a WNBA All-Star in 2000, and made 4 WNBA Finals during her 6 years with the Liberty. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with fellow Rutgers star Mark Peterson about Sue winning a gold medal at the Pan Am Games and being 1 of the best athletes in Scarlet Knights history.
In 1987 Sue played for Team USA at the Pan American Games: what did it mean to her to represent her country, and what did it mean to her to win a gold medal? I assume it meant a lot to her. She prided herself on how her accomplishments benefited her team’s success, so I think it meant the world to her.
She was a 3-time All-American/3-time conference POY at Rutgers and in 1988 she was named national POY: what did it mean to her to receive such outstanding honors? Sue was never about individual honors. I am sure she appreciated the recognition but was prouder to play at that high a level and make the NCAA tourney every year.
She still holds several school records including 2655 PTS/1357 REB/293 BLK: did you realize at the time how prolific a player she was? I absolutely knew that she was a special talent. If we were playing a men’s pickup game in the gym and she wanted to play then she would get picked as high as anyone else. She was like a female Bernard King!
After graduating she spent several years playing professionally overseas: what was the situation like back then for female college stars before the WNBA was created in 1997? I had the opportunity to play abroad as well, and I soon realized that all the top women’s players were overseas. She was a legend in Europe where women’s basketball was on a much larger stage so she would always be mentioned in the foreign sports magazines.
In Game 2 of the 1999 WNBA Finals as a player for New York, Tina Thompson made a jumper to give Houston a 2-PT lead with 2.4 seconds left, then Teresa Weatherspoon took an inbounds pass from Kym Hampton and made a 50-footer off the backboard to win the game: where does that rank among the most amazing shots that you have ever seen (www.facebook.com/watch/?v=986188338618491)? That was a very tough shot, and considering that it occurred in the Finals it is definitely 1 of the top-10 shots that I have ever seen. Sue was 1 of the 1st people to run over and congratulate T-Spoon.
In 2000 she received the WNBA’s Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award: how much importance did she place on sportsmanship? It goes right along with the type of person she is. The fact that we remain close friends to this day is because she is a down-to-earth/good person despite winning all those awards. She always deflected the attention to her teammates because that is the type of player she was.
She made the WNBA Finals 4 times in 6 years but went 0-4 vs. Houston/Los Angeles: do you consider her playoff runs a success (since she kept making the Finals), or a failure (due to never getting a ring), or other? She was just glad to be a key contributor on a team that was a true perennial contender. She gave everything on the court and did her best, which is nonetheless an amazing accomplishment.
In 2002 she went public with her sexual orientation: how big a deal was it at the time, and how did you feel a few years later when she said that being a lesbian was an “overwhelming liability” in getting hired as a basketball coach? Sue never hid who she was and never shied away from it. Sometimes it caused her to miss out on opportunities…but she would not slight herself just to get a job. If they did not accept her then she would not take the job or feel like she missed out on anything.
After getting out of coaching she became CEO of Fight 2B Fit, a youth fitness program that works with kids in New York: what has she been able to accomplish so far? I am more familiar with her oyster farming! She is the top oyster producer in Long Island, which came out of a family business that she added her own touch to.
In 2013 she was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame: when people look back on her career, how do you think that she should be remembered the most? As an unstoppable player, great teammate, and wonderful person.