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]
.jpg) Rodgers in 2019 | |
| William & Mary Tribe | |
|---|---|
| Position | Assistant coach |
| League | Coastal Athletic Association |
| Personal information | |
| Born | December 8, 1989 Suffolk, Virginia, U.S. |
| Listed height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
| Listed weight | 161 lb (73 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | King's Fork (Suffolk, Virginia) |
| College | Georgetown (2009–2013) |
| WNBA draft | 2013: 2nd round, 14th overall pick |
| Selected by the Minnesota Lynx | |
| Playing career | 2013–2020 |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 2013 | Minnesota Lynx |
| 2014–2018 | New York Liberty |
| 2019–2020 | Las Vegas Aces |
| As coach: | |
| 2020 | Las Vegas Aces (assistant) |
| 2021–2022 | Georgetown (assistant) |
| 2022–present | William & Mary (assistant) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Stats at WNBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
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
editRodgers 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
editRodgers 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
editSource[14]
| 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
editRodgers 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
edit| 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
edit| 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
edit| 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
editRodgers 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
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ Youngblood, Kent (April 16, 2013). "Lynx add depth at guard in draft". Star Tribune. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Minnesota takes Suffolk's Rodgers in WNBA draft". The Virginian-Pilot. April 16, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
- ^ "Sugar Rodgers". tribeathletics.com. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
- ^ "PARADE MAGAZINE ALL-AMERICANS FROM HAMPTON ROADS" (PDF).
- ^ a b c Schad, Tom (December 24, 2012). "Sugar Rodgers emerges from toilsome roots to lead Hoyas". The Washington Times. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
- ^ Hays, Graham (December 5, 2010). "No sugarcoating for Sugar Rodgers". ESPN. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
- ^ a b c "Rodgers Selected 14th Overall in WNBA Draft". Georgetown Hoyas. April 15, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
- ^ Orton, Kathy (March 7, 2010). "Freshman Sugar Rodgers has led Georgetown women to new heights". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
- ^ Gerstner, Joanne C. (March 23, 2011). "Georgetown's Sweet Trip to the Final 16". The New York Times. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
- ^ "Huskies continue march toward 3rd straight title with rally past Georgetown". ESPN. Associated Press. March 27, 2011. Archived from the original on January 23, 2016. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
- ^ "Pitt Women's Basketball to Host Sixth Annual Pink the Petersen Game on Feb. 23". Pittsburgh Panthers. February 23, 2013. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
- ^ "NCAA® Career Statistics". web1.ncaa.org. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
- ^ "WNBA Draft Board". WNBA. April 15, 2013. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
- ^ "Lynx vs. Sun, 1 June 2013". WNBA. June 1, 2013. Archived from the original on June 4, 2013. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
- ^ Minnesota Lynx 2013 Statistics, wnba.com. http://www.wnba.com/lynx/stats/
- ^ "Sugar Rodgers stats". WNBA.com. September 19, 2016. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
- ^ "Suffolk's Sugar Rodgers goes from New York to Vegas in 4-team WNBA trade". pilotonline.com. April 11, 2019. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
- ^ "Sugar Rodgers". Women's Sports Foundation. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
External links
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