Sugar Rodgers
Rodgers in 2019
William & Mary
PositionAssistant Coach
LeagueColonial Athletic Association
Personal information
Born (1989-12-08) December 8, 1989 (age 34)
Suffolk, Virginia, U.S.
Listed height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Listed weight161 lb (73 kg)
Career information
High schoolKing's Fork (Suffolk, Virginia)
CollegeGeorgetown (2009–2013)
WNBA draft2013: 2nd round, 14th overall pick
Selected by the Minnesota Lynx
Playing career2013–2020
Career history
As player:
2013Minnesota Lynx
2014–2018New York Liberty
2019–2020Las Vegas Aces
As coach:
2020Las Vegas Aces (assistant)
2021–2022Georgetown (assistant)
2022–presentWilliam & Mary (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
Stats at WNBA.com

Ta'Shauna "Sugar" Rodgers (born December 8, 1989) is an assistant coach and played her college ball for the Georgetown Hoyas..[1] A prolific three-point shooter, Rodgers was drafted by the Minnesota Lynx in part to fill the void created by the trade of Candice Wiggins.[2]

Rodgers (left) with Georgetown

At Georgetown, she was the school's all-time scoring leader, with 2,518 points, and the team's all-time steals leader, with 326, as well as holding the team record for 3-point field goals made.[3] She was a four-time All Big East First Team pick, and was drafted by the Lynx in the second round as the 14th overall pick.[4]

She is currently an assistant coach at The College of William and Mary.[5]

Early life

Rodgers was born in Suffolk, Virginia to Barbara Mae Rodgers and Oscar Allen Saunders Jr. in 1989. Rodgers played basketball for her high school team at King's Fork High School, where she became the school's MVP all four years, conference Player of the Year three times, as well as a McDonald's All-American. She was named a Parade All-American in 2009.[6] She graduated with her school's records in career points, assists, rebounds and blocks. At the 2007 AAU Nike Nationals, Sugar didn't start, but played in every game as for the Suffolk Blazers, and was named the tournament's MVP.[7] Sugar's mother, who had played basketball herself at Booker T. Washington High School, died in 2005 from lupus, and her father died in July 2012.[7]

College career

Rodgers was recruited to the Georgetown Hoyas in part through her play on the AAU Suffolk Blazers, who were coached by Boo Williams, the brother of Georgetown head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy.[7] Rodgers excelled early at Georgetown, and was named 2010 Big East Freshman of the Year,[8] as well as First Team All-Big East, a feat she repeated all four years.[9] That year she led the team to new heights, propelling them into the national rankings for the first time in fifteen years,[10] and helping the team to just its second NCAA Tournament invitation. In her sophomore year, she led the team to the NCAA's Sweet Sixteen with an upset win over rival Maryland,[11] before losing to UConn.[12]

In her four years, she amassed 2,518 points to become the leading scorer all-time at Georgetown on either the men's or women's team.[3][9] The leading scorer on the men's team, Sleepy Floyd had 2,304 points, while Patrick Ewing had 2,184.[13] She was a three-time AP Honorable Mention All-American, and majored in English.[9]

Georgetown statistics

Source[14]

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
Year Team GP Points FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2009–10 Georgetown 33 580 39.6 33.3 78.0 3.6 1.9 1.8 0.2 17.6
2010–11 Georgetown 35 653 40.5 34.8 82.9 4.9 2.4 2.5 0.3 18.7
2011–12 Georgetown 31 574 34.3 29.3 81.9 5.4 1.7 2.3 0.4 18.5
2012–13 Georgetown 31 711 36.4 31.9 75.8 6.9 4.1 3.4 0.5 22.9
Career Georgetown 130 2518 37.6 32.3 79.3 5.2 2.5 2.5 0.3 19.4

Professional

Rodgers was selected 2nd in the 2nd round of the 2013 WNBA draft as the 14th overall pick by the Minnesota Lynx.[15] She made the team out of training camp, and made her professional debut on June 1, 2013, in a victory over the Connecticut Sun.[16] Rodgers has logged the most minutes of the three rookies on the team, earning playing time thanks to aggressive defense and hustle.[17]

During the WNBA off season, Rodgers joined the Arras team in France. She was traded to the New York Liberty prior to the 2014 season. In the WNBA, she averages 18.8 minutes per game, 35.7% three-point field goals, and 7.8 PPG.[18]

On April 11, 2019, Rodgers was traded to the Las Vegas Aces as part of a four-way deal that saw Rodgers head to Las Vegas in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2020 WNBA draft, which in turn was traded to the Atlanta Dream for guard Nia Coffey. Also involved in that trade was the acquisition of Tanisha Wright from the Minnesota Lynx in exchange for a second round pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft.[19]

WNBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career best ° League leader
† Denotes seasons in which Rogers won a WNBA championship

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2013† Minnesota 28 0 7.6 .317 .313 .571 1.4 0.5 0.5 0.3 0.4 1.9
2014 New York 34 0 16.6 .353 .289 .735 2.1 1.3 0.7 0.3 1.0 6.0
2015 New York 33 5 18.7 .340 .320 .881 2.2 1.5 0.7 0.2 1.0 8.1
2016 New York 33 33 30.5 .405 .413 .842 3.7 2.4 1.1 0.5 1.8 14.5
2017 New York 33 15 25.6 .339 .342 .815 3.8 2.3 0.9 0.5 1.6 10.5
2018 New York 31 13 19.6 .362 .323 .826 3.2 2.0 0.7 0.1 1.2 6.3
2019 Las Vegas 33 0 11.6 .360 .357 .600 1.5 1.2 0.4 0.4 0.8 3.4
2020 Las Vegas 22 1 12.0 .321 .313 .750 1.3 1.4 0.3 0.1 0.7 3.4
Career 8 years, 3 teams 247 67 18.2 .359 .346 .816 2.5 1.6 0.7 0.3 1.1 7.0

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2013† Minnesota 5 0 2.2 .250 .000 .500 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.6
2015 New York 6 0 17.0 .372 .438 .875 1.7 2.5 1.0 0.3 1.5 8.8
2016 New York 1 1 24.0 .444 .250 .667 2.0 3.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 11.0
2017 New York 1 0 18.0 .375 .333 .000 3.0 3.0 1.0 0.0 2.0 8.0
2019 Las Vegas 5 0 5.4 .143 .167 .000 1.0 0.2 0.2 0.0 0.6 0.6
2020 Las Vegas 8 0 9.9 .143 .167 .000 1.1 1.0 0.3 0.0 0.6 1.1
Career 6 years, 3 teams 26 1 10.0 .304 .275 .810 1.2 1.2 0.4 0.1 0.7 3.3

Personal life

Rodgers is an ambassador for Up2Us Sports, a national non-profit organization dedicated to supporting underserved youth by providing them with coaches trained in positive youth development.[20]

References

  1. ^ Parham, Nate (April 15, 2013). "2013 WNBA Draft: Minnesota Lynx select Sugar Rodgers with the 14th pick in the draft". Swish Appeal. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  2. ^ Youngblood, Kent (April 16, 2013). "Lynx add depth at guard in draft". Star Tribune. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  3. ^ a b Wagner, Laura (April 16, 2013). "Rodgers Taken 14th in Draft". The Hoya. Archived from the original on May 8, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  4. ^ "Minnesota takes Suffolk's Rodgers in WNBA draft". The Virginian-Pilot. April 16, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  5. ^ "Sugar Rodgers". tribeathletics.com. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
  6. ^ "PARADE MAGAZINE ALL-AMERICANS FROM HAMPTON ROADS" (PDF).
  7. ^ a b c Schad, Tom (December 24, 2012). "Sugar Rodgers emerges from toilsome roots to lead Hoyas". The Washington Times. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  8. ^ Hays, Graham (December 5, 2010). "No sugarcoating for Sugar Rodgers". ESPN. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  9. ^ a b c "Rodgers Selected 14th Overall in WNBA Draft". Georgetown Hoyas. April 15, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  10. ^ Orton, Kathy (March 7, 2010). "Freshman Sugar Rodgers has led Georgetown women to new heights". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  11. ^ Gerstner, Joanne C. (March 23, 2011). "Georgetown's Sweet Trip to the Final 16". The New York Times. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  12. ^ "Huskies continue march toward 3rd straight title with rally past Georgetown". ESPN. Associated Press. March 27, 2011. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
  13. ^ "Pitt Women's Basketball to Host Sixth Annual Pink the Petersen Game on Feb. 23". Pittsburgh Panthers. February 23, 2013. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
  14. ^ "NCAA® Career Statistics". web1.ncaa.org. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
  15. ^ "WNBA Draft Board". WNBA. April 15, 2013. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
  16. ^ "Lynx vs. Sun, 1 June 2013". WNBA. June 1, 2013. Archived from the original on June 4, 2013. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
  17. ^ Minnesota Lynx 2013 Statistics, wnba.com. http://www.wnba.com/lynx/stats/
  18. ^ "Sugar Rodgers stats". WNBA.com. September 19, 2016. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
  19. ^ "Suffolk's Sugar Rodgers goes from New York to Vegas in 4-team WNBA trade". pilotonline.com. April 11, 2019. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
  20. ^ "Sugar Rodgers". Women's Sports Foundation. Retrieved April 14, 2017.

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