Last Updated on August 11, 2026 by Mat Diekhake

Sue Wicks earned a reputation as a smart and fundamentally strong forward who could impact games without needing to dominate the scoring column. Her rebounding, passing, and defensive instincts made her one of the key interior players during the early years of the WNBA.

Here is the detailed profile of Sue Wicks:

Player Profile

  • Full Name: Susan Joy Wicks
  • Nationality: American
  • Date of Birth: November 26, 1966
  • Hometown: Center Moriches, New York, USA
  • Height: 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m)
  • Weight: 175 lbs (79 kg)
  • Wingspan: 6 feet 4 inches
  • Shoe Size: Size 12 (US)
  • Number: Wore #23 with the New York Liberty
  • Position: Forward/Center
  • High School: Center Moriches High School (New York)
  • College: Rutgers University (1984–1988)
  • WNBA Draft: Undrafted (joined WNBA in its inaugural season in 1997)
  • Teams Played For: New York Liberty (1997–2002)
  • Championship Rings: 0 (played in WNBA Finals but did not win a championship)
  • Kids: No children (she was the first openly gay woman in the WNBA)
  • Siblings: Not widely documented

Player Archetype / Play Style

Sue Wicks was a cerebral two-way post forward who fit the mold of a defense-first interior connector, giving New York a smart, physical frontcourt presence rather than a volume-scoring star. Defensively, she operated as a paint protector and positional rebounder, using timing, awareness, and discipline to contest shots, wall off space, and make life harder for opposing bigs. Offensively, she worked more as a complementary piece than a featured scorer, contributing through interior finishing, extra passing, screen setting, and steady possession play. At 6-foot-3 and 174 pounds, Wicks had solid frontcourt size and played with a fundamentally sound, workmanlike style that emphasized toughness, team defense, and unselfish decision-making. Her overall game was built on intelligence and reliability: a rugged, high-IQ post player whose impact often came from the little things that held a lineup together.

Scouting Report

Sue Wicks was the kind of frontcourt player who made an offense function without needing to finish every possession herself. The first thing you notice is how comfortable she was making decisions from the elbows and high post, patiently waiting for cutters to clear before delivering passes that arrived exactly where teammates wanted them. She rarely forced the issue. If the defense sagged, she’d take the open jumper. If a defender overplayed the handoff, she’d pivot into a drive or hit a backdoor cutter before the weak-side help could rotate. That’s where her value really emerged. She kept possessions alive by seeing the next action instead of focusing on the current one. Around the basket, she relied on footwork, leverage, and touch rather than trying to overpower defenders, using well-timed seals to establish position before the catch instead of wrestling for it afterward. Defensively, Wicks played with excellent anticipation. She understood when to step across as the low helper, rotated early enough to discourage drives without abandoning the defensive glass, and consistently boxed out before pursuing rebounds, a detail that’s easy to overlook because it rarely shows up in highlights. The trade-off was mobility. Stretching her into repeated perimeter switches or forcing long recoveries after quick ball movement could expose some limitations laterally, making her most effective in schemes where she could defend the paint, communicate coverages, and use positioning to control space. I’ve always thought she fit best alongside an athletic frontcourt partner who thrived diving to the rim, allowing Wicks to operate as the connective piece who linked actions together through passing and smart spacing. There are shades of Kelly Tripucka’s understated offensive feel in the way she avoided unnecessary dribbles, but stylistically her overall game is much closer to a player like Alyssa Thomas without the same level of downhill explosiveness—a forward whose influence came from processing the floor one step ahead of everyone else and making the simple play before it became obvious. — Mat Diekhake, HeatingUp

Sources:
Player profile — Basketball-Reference
1999 New York Liberty roster and stats — Basketball-Reference
Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame bio — Rutgers Athletics