Very rarely does a university embrace and fall in love with an individual athlete. In the mid-80s, however, one such athlete called Rutgers home and, game after game, brought students to a complete frenzy that was never before seen on the Banks and may never be seen again.
Former Rutgers women's basketball player Sue Wicks - perhaps the best all-around basketball player to ever sport the scarlet uniform - was an athlete that not only was a leader for her team, but for the entire Rutgers community.
"Sue is, in my opinion, the greatest player ever at Rutgers, male or female," Cook College Dean of Students Lee Schneider said. "She was an outstanding athlete and member of the community."
As one of eight children, Wicks came to Rutgers after a strong career at Center Moriches High School in New York. At Rutgers, she had an instant impact and contributed in ways that may never be seen again.
In her freshman year, Wicks showed amazing talent as she led her squad to a 27-3 season in 1986 and the program's first ever NCAA Tournament birth. Following the team's successful run to the East Regional finals, Wicks became the third Rutgers player named to the Kodak All-American team - the only underclassman on the 10-member squad.
It was the first of three straight Kodak All-American honors for the New York native.
"My years at Rutgers were great," Wicks said. "It seems like so long ago, but they were definitely the best years of my life."
In the following two seasons, the Scarlet Knights went on to win back-to-back Atlantic 10 Championships, including a 30-win season and a national ranking of No. 5.
In her senior season - in which she capped off her career by scoring more points than any other player in history with 2,655 - Wicks was named the Naismith Player of the Year.
"We had a great team that worked well together," Wicks said. "We never really had injuries and [we] had great chemistry, which led to our success."
During Wicks' tenure at RU, the Knights went undefeated at home for three consecutive seasons and turned the campus into an absolute frenzy. Schneider recalls that the games were always sold out. Students would constantly crowd around Wicks whenever she would walk around campus because of the type of person that she was.
"Back then, a lot of athletes were very involved in the community," Schneider said of Wicks' interaction with the Rutgers student body. "Everyone seemed to know Sue on a regular basis, and she touched many people. Because of that, many people went to the women's games, [which, as a result,] drew more than the men['s]."
With only a month remaining until graduation, however, Wicks decided to turn her time to training for a career in a professional Italian League. Being offered the largest women's basketball contract at the time was something that Wicks could not pass up.
"In college, I never saw a player that was better than me. The Italian league was a wake-up call," Wicks said.
With this league, she traveled to nearly every European country, as well as most of the world, save the Middle East. As an individual that can speak Japanese, Italian, and Spanish, this was something that Wicks really enjoyed.
"Every year, I tried to go to a different country to play because I wanted to experience the difference cultures," Wicks said. "It gave me a new way to look at life."
Following her seasons overseas, the 6-foot-3 forward was selected sixth overall in the 1997 WNBA Inaugural Draft.
Wicks, who struggled in her early seasons in the league, continued to work hard, leading to her eventual selection to the 2000 WNBA All-Star Team. She followed up her All-Star selection by averaging 20.6 minutes per game in the 2001 season and ranking 13th in the league in blocks.
While in the WNBA, in 1998, Wicks became only the second female player to have her number retired at Rutgers.
Now, Wicks is taking on a new challenge by returning to college to continue her studies.
"I am really excited for her to come back and finish," Schneider said. "It is a great thing for her and for college sports in general."
By taking a year off to study, Wicks has begun to focus on her next goal that she looks to accomplish. After leaning towards law school, Wicks has now decided that she will probably return to her first love: basketball.
This time, however, Wicks hopes to coach at either the high school or collegiate level.
"I was thinking of law school, but I think that I should be a coach," Wicks said. "I want to be a part of further developing women leaders."
"It will be interesting to see what she does next," Schneider said. "Whatever she does decide to do, she will have an impact."
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