Tora Suber Explained

Tora Suber
Position:Guard
Height Ft:5
Height In:7
Weight Lbs:137
Birth Date:November 23, 1974
Birth Place:Coatesville, Pennsylvania, U.S.
College:Virginia (1993–1997)
Draft League:WNBA
Draft Year:1997
Draft Round:1
Draft Pick:7
Draft Team:Charlotte Sting
Career Start:1997
Career End:1999
Years1:1997–1998
Team1:Charlotte Sting
Years2:1999
Team2:Orlando Miracle
Wnba Profile:suberto
Bbr Wnba:suberto01w
Letter:s

Tora Suber (born November 23, 1974) is a former professional basketball player who played for the Charlotte Sting and Orlando Miracle in the WNBA. She played a total of 83 games.

High school

Suber and Tina Nicholson were teammates at Downingtown High School in the early 1990s. Suber graduated in 1993.[1] In total she recorded 2,420 career points and helped the team win four District 1 titles and two state crowns.

WNBA Career

On April 28, 1997, Suber was selected with the 7th overall pick of the 1997 WNBA Draft by the Charlotte Sting. Her debut game was played on June 22, 1997 in a 59 - 76 loss to the Phoenix Mercury where she recorded 6 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals.[2] Suber would play her rookie and sophomore seasons as a member of the Sting, playing in 58 games, scoring a total of 321 points, 142 assists and 95 rebounds. She was waived by the Sting on May 29, 1999.[3]

After being waived by the Sting, Suber would go on to play her 3rd season with the Orlando Miracle. However, she had a significantly less role and although she played in 25 games, she only averaged 4.6 minutes per game and averaged 0.8 points.

Unsuccessful WNBA Comeback Attempts

After playing the 1999 season with the Miracle, Suber would never play in the WNBA again, but she did sign multiple contracts for teams in the early 2000's. One of those teams coincidentally being the Orlando Miracle. Suber would sign with the Miracle on May 3, 2001 but would get waived 8 days later on May 11, 2001.[4] Since she missed out on the 2001 season, Suber would try her luck again in the 2002 WNBA season by signing with the Houston Comets, even participating in the team's Media Day on April 29, 2002.[5] Unfortunately, she would never play a game for the Comets and would be waived on May 8, 2002.

Two years later in April 2004, Suber tried another comeback by signing once again with the Houston Comets as a free agent.[6] However, she was waived a few weeks later on May 9, 2004[7]

Due to her 2001, 2002 and 2004 comebacks not coming to fruition, Suber's final WNBA game was the last game of the 1999 season as a member of the Miracle. That game was played on August 21, 1999 in a 68 - 74 loss to the Detroit Shock where Suber only played for 13 seconds.[8] This game was also the final career game of fellow 1997 WNBA Draftee Wanda Guyton, who was a member of the Shock.

Personal life

Suber was born prematurely to a 15-year-old mother. She earned a bachelor's degree in English literature at Virginia.[9]

Career statistics

Regular season

|-| style="text-align:left;"|1997| style="text-align:left;"|Charlotte| 28 || 8 || 17.0 || .370 || .397 || .683 || 1.5 || 2.0 || 0.5 || 0.1 || 1.8 || 4.7|-| style="text-align:left;"|1998| style="text-align:left;"|Charlotte| 30 || 12 || 22.7 || .314 || .310 || .630 || 1.8 || 2.9 || 1.0 || 0.0 || 1.5 || 6.0|-| style="text-align:left;"|1999| style="text-align:left;"|Orlando| 25 || 0 || 4.6 || .292 || .111 || .500 || 0.5 || 0.4 || 0.2 || 0.0 || 0.4 || 0.8|-| style="text-align:left;"|Career| style="text-align:left;"|3 years, 2 teams| 83 || 20 || 15.3 || .331 || .328 || .639 || 1.3 || 1.8 || 0.6 || 0.0 || 1.3 || 4.0

Playoffs

|-| style="text-align:left;"|1997| style="text-align:left;"|Charlotte| 1 || 0 || 7.0 || .000 || — || — || 0.0 || 1.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 1.0 || 0.0|-| style="text-align:left;"|1998| style="text-align:left;"|Charlotte| 2 || 2 || 37.5 || .391 || .250 || .667 || 1.0 || 5.0 || 2.5 || 0.0 || 3.5 || 11.5|-| style="text-align:left;"|Career| style="text-align:left;"|2 years, 1 team| 3 || 2 || 27.0 || .375 || .250 || .667 || 0.7 || 3.7 || 1.7 || 0.0 || 2.7 || 7.7

Notes and References

  1. http://articles.philly.com/1997-06-09/sports/25525327_1_wnba-wbna-whippets Ex-teammates Will Be Opponents In Wnba Tina Nicholson And Tora Suber Were A Backcourt Tandem At Downingtown High. Now They're Pros On Different Teams. - philly-archives
  2. Web site: Charlotte Sting at Phoenix Mercury, June 22, 1997 . 2023-06-15 . Basketball-Reference.com . en.
  3. News: 1999-05-30 . Transactions . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-06-15 . 0362-4331.
  4. Web site: 2001 Orlando Miracle Transactions . 2023-06-15 . Basketball-Reference.com . en.
  5. Web site: Tora Suber of the Houston Comets poses for a portrait at the WNBA... . 2023-06-15 . Getty Images . en-gb.
  6. Web site: 2004-04-25 . Comets Open 2004 Training Camp . 2023-06-15 . OurSports Central . en.
  7. Web site: 2004-05-09 . Comets Sign Clinesmith and McCain; Stephens and Suber Waived . 2023-06-15 . OurSports Central . en.
  8. Web site: Orlando Miracle at Detroit Shock, August 21, 1999 . 2023-06-15 . Basketball-Reference.com . en.
  9. http://articles.philly.com/1999-12-31/sports/25480626_1_whippets-downingtown-girls-tora-suber Suber Is Athlete Of Decade The Dowingtown Basketball Star Didn't Stop There. - philly-archives