Basketball Hall of Famer Sue Wicks to lead Riverhead CAP’s Say NO to Drugs March Friday  

Women’s basketball legend and Hall of Famer Sue Wicks will be this honored guest and keynote speaker at the Riverhead Community Awareness Program’s 37^th Annual Say NO to Drugs March on Friday.

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, finishing 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. The most highly decorated player in the history of Rutgers basketball, she is 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, which she calls her proudest accomplishment. 

“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,” Wicks said in a press release issued by Riverhead CAP announcing her participation in this year’s event. “Later, as a U.S. Sports Ambassador under President George W. Bush, I had the opportunity to visit Southeast Asia and share 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.

“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.”

Riverhead Community Awareness Program, a nonprofit organization, has provided drug and alcohol prevention, education, and counseling programs for the Riverhead Central School District since 1983. CAP is best known for its two-year prevention program serving over 750 fifth and sixth graders in Pulaski Street School each year. The Too Good for Drugs program, taught by community volunteers and student peer leaders, concludes with the annual Say NO to Drugs March. Although the goal of the program is to prevent and delay underage drinking and drug use in youth, its evidence-based foundation is rooted in building self-esteem and increasing healthy decision-making skills. 

The 37^th Annual Say NO to Drugs March will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, June 7, in front of Pulaski Street School. 

The march heads east to Roanoke Avenue, then south on Roanoke Avenue, to Second Street then west past Riverhead Town Hall, returning 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 where Ms. Wicks will address the students and community along with 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.