Basketball Hall of Famer Sue Wicks to Lead CAP March
Basketball legend and Hall of Famer Sue Wicks will lead Riverhead CAP’s 37th Annual Say NO to Drugs March. The event will take place on Friday, June 7th.
A Long Island native, Wicks played for Center Moriches High School where she shattered the record for most points scored in a game at 59. She continued her basketball career at Rutgers University from 1984 to 1988. Wicks finished as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,655 points and rebounder with 1,357 rebounds. She holds Rutgers records (male or female) for points scored, scoring average, rebounds, rebounding average, blocked shots, field goals made/attempted, and free throws made/attempted.
Wicks is the most highly decorated player in Rutgers basketball history. She is also only the second Scarlet Knight on the women’s side to have her jersey retired. Wicks was a Pan-American Games gold medalist in 1987 and played on the 1988 US Olympic Team. After playing professionally for nine years internationally, Wicks played on the inaugural WNBA team for the NY Liberty from 1997 to 2002. She calls this her proudest accomplishment.
A PROUD PIONEER
“As a pioneering member of the first class of WNBA players, I am proud to have worked on issues concerning player negotiations, healthcare, and wages,” said Wicks. “Later, as a U.S. Sports Ambassador under President George W. Bush, I had the opportunity to visit Southeast Asia. I shared my love of basketball while focusing on girls’ and women’s rights.”
Wicks was inducted into the Rutgers Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.
A LEADER AND ADVOCATE
“We are thrilled to have Sue Wicks lead this year’s CAP March,” said Felicia Scocozza, CAP’s executive director. “Through her leadership, advocacy, determination, and achievements, she is a wonderful role model for our youth and community.”
Wicks says the issue of substance use prevention is personal to her, having experienced losses related to addiction within her own family. Her message to young people is simple: “Do your best, understand mistakes are not the end, begin again, and push the limit.”
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
Since 1983 Riverhead Community Awareness Program, Inc. (CAP), a nonprofit organization, has provided drug and alcohol prevention, education, and counseling programs for the Riverhead Central School District. CAP is best known for its Pulaski Street School prevention program, Too Good for Drugs. The program serves over 750 fifth and sixth graders annually. It concludes with the annual Say NO to Drugs March. The goal of the program is to prevent and delay underage drinking and drug use in youth. Its foundation is rooted in building self-esteem and increasing healthy decision-making skills.
The 37th Annual Say NO to Drugs March begins at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, June 7th. The route starts at Pulaski Street School and heads south on Roanoke Avenue. Marchers then head west on 2nd Street past Town Hall. They’ll return to Pulaski Street School via Griffing and Hallett avenues. Following the march, there will be a brief ceremony on the steps of Pulaski Street School. Ms. Wicks will then address the students, the community, the Riverhead Town Board, and other elected officials. After the ceremony, the Loyal Order of Moose Lodge #1742 will once again generously serve a picnic lunch to all students and guests.
