After years of dazzling on the court from Italy to Japan and back home in the WNBA, Sue Wicks has found a surprising new chapter in her life, from hoops to a completely unexpected challenge.

On a calm morning in New York’s East Moriches Bay, Wicks steers her boat through hundreds of floating cages. She checks on her oyster farm.

“Some days you’re like, ‘Why am I doing this?’ You’re injured, you’re hurt, you are losing, things are going bad. Then the next day, you go back and do it again because you love it,” she said.

The ocean has always been part of Wicks’ life. Growing up in Center Moriches on Long Island, she spent hours by the water, watching the waves and playing along the shore. That love for the sea stuck with her, even as she traveled the world chasing basketball dreams.

Sue Wicks' Baller Life

At Rutgers, she ruled the college game. In 1988, she won Naismith Player of the Year. She also earned U.S. Basketball Writers Association Player of the Year, Women’s Basketball News Service Player of the Year, and Street & Smith’s Player of the Year.

She was a three-time All-American and three-time Atlantic 10 Player of the Year. She still holds Rutgers records for points (1,357) and rebounds (2,655).

Wicks carried that success into the WNBA, playing for the New York Liberty from 1997 to 2002. She scored 823 points, grabbed 788 rebounds, dished 182 assists, and blocked 158 shots in her career.

In 2000, the WNBA named her to the All-Star team. That same year, she won the Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award.

Today, she’s channeling that same focus and drive into Violet Cove Oyster Co., finding a new thrill in the challenge of nurturing oysters

Written by

Ishika Ghosh

Edited by

Oajaswini Prabhu