Ta'Shauna "Sugar" Rodgers (born December 8, 1989) is an assistant coach and played her college ball for the

Georgetown Hoyas The Georgetown Hoyas are the collegiate athletics teams that officially represent Georgetown University, located in Washington, D.C. Georgetown's athletics department fields 23 men's and women's varsity level teams and competes at the National C ...

.. 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 Candice Dana Wiggins (born February 14, 1987) is an American former professional basketball player. Wiggins played college basketball at Stanford University, where she graduated as the all-time leading scorer in Stanford and Pac-10 women's basket ...

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. 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. She is currently an assistant coach at

The College of William and Mary ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

Early life

Rodgers was born in

Suffolk, Virginia Suffolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and as such has no county. As of the 2020 census, the population was 94,324. It is the 9th most populous city in Virginia and the largest city in Virginia by boundary land area as ...

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 King's Fork High School is located in Suffolk, Virginia. It is administered by Suffolk City Public Schools. The school colors are maroon and Vegas gold, and the official mascot is the Bulldog. King's Fork was founded in 2003, and was designed ...

, 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. 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. Sugar's mother, who had played basketball herself at Booker T. Washington High School, died in 2005 from

lupus Lupus, technically known as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue in many parts of the body. Symptoms vary among people and may be mild to severe. Comm ...

, and her father died in July 2012.

College career

Rodgers was recruited to the

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 Terri Williams (born January 11, 1969) is a women's basketball coach. From 2012 to 2021, she coached at Auburn University. From 2004 to 2012, she was coach at Georgetown. She had previously served as an assistant coach at Georgetown, Georgia, a ...

. Rodgers excelled early at Georgetown, and was named 2010 Big East Freshman of the Year, as well as First Team All-Big East, a feat she repeated all four years. That year she led the team to new heights, propelling them into the national rankings for the first time in fifteen years, 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 Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, before losing to

UConn The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Ha ...

. 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. The leading scorer on the men's team,

Sleepy Floyd Eric Augustus "Sleepy" Floyd (born March 6, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player. An NBA All-Star in 1987 as a Warrior, he is perhaps best known for his tenures for Golden State and Houston. Early life, family and education ...

had 2,304 points, while

Patrick Ewing Patrick Aloysius Ewing (born August 5, 1962) is a Jamaican-American basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Georgetown University men's team. He played most of his career as the starting center for the New ...

had 2,184. She was a three-time AP Honorable Mention All-American, and majored in English.

Georgetown statistics

Source

Professional

Rodgers was selected 2nd in the 2nd round of the 2013 WNBA Draft as the 14th overall pick by the

Minnesota Lynx The Minnesota Lynx are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team won the WNBA title in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017. Founded pr ...

. She made the team out of training camp, and made her professional debut on June 1, 2013, in a victory over the

Connecticut Sun The Connecticut Sun are an American professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut that competes in the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was established ...

. Rodgers has logged the most minutes of the three rookies on the team, earning playing time thanks to aggressive defense and hustle. During the WNBA off season, Rodgers joined the Arras team in France. She was traded to the

New York Liberty The New York Liberty are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Liberty compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as part of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was f ...

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. On April 11, 2019, Rodgers was traded to the

Las Vegas Aces The Las Vegas Aces are an American professional basketball team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Aces compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conferenc ...

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 The Atlanta Dream are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded for the 2008 WNBA season. The team is owned by real ...

for guard

Nia Coffey Nia Coffey (born June 11, 1995) is an American professional basketball player with the Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). A small forward, she was drafted with the fifth overall pick in the 2017 WNBA draft, whic ...

. Also involved in that trade was the acquisition of

Tanisha Wright Tanisha Lovely Wright (born November 29, 1983) is an American basketball coach and former player. Wright is currently the head coach of the Atlanta Dream of the WNBA. She began her coaching career as an assistant coach at Charlotte. As a player, W ...

from the

in exchange for a second round pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft.

WNBA career statistics

Regular season

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Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

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, 34 , , 0 , , 16.6 , , .353 , , .289 , , .735 , , 2.1 , , 1.3 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 1.0 , , 6.0 , - , align="left" ,

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, 33 , , 5 , , 18.7 , , .340 , , .320 , , .881 , , 2.2 , , 1.5 , , 0.7 , , 0.2 , , 1.0 , , 8.1 , - , align="left" ,

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, 33 , , 33 , , 30.5 , , .405 , , .413 , , .842 , , 3.7 , , 2.4 , , 1.1 , , 0.5 , , 1.8 , , 14.5 , - , align="left" ,

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, 33 , , 15 , , 25.6 , , .339 , , .342 , , .815 , , 3.8 , , 2.3 , , 0.9 , , 0.5 , , 1.6 , , 10.5 , - , align="left" ,

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, 31 , , 13 , , 19.6 , , .362 , , .323 , , .826 , , 3.2 , , 2.0 , , 0.7 , , 0.1 , , 1.2 , , 6.3 , - , align="left" ,

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Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

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2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

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, 22 , , 1 , , 12.0 , , .321 , , .313 , , .750 , , 1.3 , , 1.4 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , 0.7 , , 3.4 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , 8 years, 3 teams , 247 , , 67 , , 18.2 , , .359 , , .346 , , .816 , , 2.5 , , 1.6 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 1.1 , , 7.0

Playoffs

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, 6 , , 0 , , 17.0 , , .372 , , .438 , , .875 , , 1.7 , , 2.5 , , 1.0 , , 0.3 , , 1.5 , , 8.8 , - , align="left" ,

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, 1 , , 0 , , 18.0 , , .375 , , .333 , , .000 , , 3.0 , , 3.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 2.0 , , 8.0 , - , align="left" ,

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, 5 , , 0 , , 5.4 , , .143 , , .167 , , .000 , , 1.0 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 0.0 , , 0.6 , , 0.6 , - , align="left" ,

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, 8 , , 0 , , 9.9 , , .143 , , .167 , , .000 , , 1.1 , , 1.0 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 0.6 , , 1.1 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , 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.

References

External links

WNBA Draft profileespnW interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodgers, Sugar Living people 1989 births American expatriate basketball people in France American women's basketball players Basketball players from Virginia Georgetown Hoyas women's basketball players Guards (basketball) Las Vegas Aces players McDonald's High School All-Americans Minnesota Lynx draft picks Minnesota Lynx players New York Liberty players Parade High School All-Americans (girls' basketball) Sportspeople from Suffolk, Virginia Women's National Basketball Association All-Stars