Orangewomen Play Team Concept in First Exhibition
11/7/2003 6:03:31 PM | Women's Basketball
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Syracuse women's basketball team will take to the hardwood for the first time this season when it hosts Team Concept at Manley Field House on Saturday, November 8. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m.
Team Concept is made up of former college players, all of which have either international or WNBA experience. Former SU standout Beth Record is among the players on the Team Concept roster.
The Orangewomen will be playing their first competition under the direction of new head coach Keith Cieplicki. Cieplicki begins his first season at SU after six straight winning seasons at the University of Vermont. Here's a look at Cieplicki's 2003-04 squad.
Nobody works harder.
That is the attitude that new head coach Keith Cieplicki has brought to the 2003-04 Syracuse women's basketball squad. Cieplicki, the fourth coach in Orangewomen history, takes the reins of a program that is just two years removed from an 18-win season and an NCAA Tournament. Last season, the Orangewomen finished 10-18.
Six of the 10 players on the roster played in at least 25 games a year ago. The Orangewomen return three players who averaged double figures in 2002-03. Senior guard Julie McBride is the top returning scorer with a 15.6 points per game average in 2002-03. She also averaged a team-leading 6.4 assists per outing as a junior. Also back in the mix for the 2003-04 season are junior guard Rochelle Coleman, a 13.5 point-per-game scorer as a sophomore, senior April Jean, who averaged 10.2 points and 7.1 boards last season, and sophomore Tierra Jackson, last year's highest-scoring reserve at 6.8 points per game. Jean will miss the first semester due to academics.
In addition to bringing a hard-nosed approach, Cieplicki will get back to basics when it comes to SU’s game plan.
"We're pretty simple, philosophically," Cieplicki said. "We’re going to guard people. On offense, we need to limit our turnovers and convert our opportunities. If we can do those things, anything can happen."
Backcourt
McBride is trying to cap an already stellar career. After only three seasons, she already ranks among the Syracuse all-time top 10 in several categories. If McBride maintains the pace she has established since becoming a starter toward the end of her freshman year, she will leave SU as the program's all-time leader in points, assists, three-pointers and made free throws. McBride has been a mainstay on the court, averaging an astonishing 38.2 minutes per game, including a school-record 39.1 minutes in 2002-03.
While McBride has been the driving force behind the SU offense for the past two seasons, Cieplicki is stressing the team approach. He is counting on the other Orangewomen to step up and help create offense, which in turn should help McBride become even more effective.
"Julie has a great feel for the game. She can score in a variety of ways," Cieplicki said. "I think in terms of her success this year, a lot of it is going to be decision making. I'd like to see other people create for her. Julie is going to have to do a lot for us this year, but I think she'll have a better year, and we'll have a better year, if we can all share the creative part of the offense. We need to help her to be better by bringing some balance."
One of those creators will be Coleman, McBride's running mate in the backcourt last season. Coleman is an exceptional three-point shooter, hitting 70 triples last season, the third-most in school history. Coleman and McBride combined for 141 long-range baskets in 2002-03, the most for any Orangewomen tandem in history. Entering the season, Coleman ranks atop the SU all-time three-point accuracy ledger, connecting on 36.0 percent (77-214) of her shots from behind the arc. She also logged heavy minutes last season, starting all 28 games and averaging 37.6 minutes per contest.
Cieplicki knows first-hand of Coleman's scoring ability. Last season, she hit for 25 points, including five three-pointers, to lead SU to an overtime win against the Cieplicki-led Vermont Catamounts. In addition to her three-point ability, Cieplicki is emphasizing to Coleman, and the rest of the SU guards, to take the ball to the basket.
"Rochelle is an exceptional shooter and scorer. I'm having flashbacks to UVM last year when she pretty much beat us," Cieplicki said. "We’re trying to get her to expand her game a little bit. We need to make people guard us and get to the line more often.
If McBride and Coleman weren't enough for opposing defenses to worry about from long distance, the Orangewomen add sharp-shooting sophomore Marchele Campbell to the mix this season. Campbell practiced with the squad last season, but did not compete because of NCAA initial eligibility rules. Campbell, a 2,000-point scorer in high school, uses a quick release to confound opponents from deep. She made 94 three-pointers in her final scholastic season, including nine in one game.
"Marchele is making great progress. She can really shoot it and score it," Cieplicki said. "When you don't play for a year, I think there's always going to be that learning curve. I think she is really working hard at understanding what we're going to need from her.”
The defensive stopper of the backcourt corps is junior Krystalyn Ellerbe. Ellerbe's teammates voted her the Orangewomen's defensive player of the year last season despite averaging just 11.6 minutes in 25 games. Ellerbe's minutes are likely to increase this season not only because of her defensive prowess, but also her ability to handle the offense.
"Krystalyn can establish a real defensive tone," Cieplicki said. "She understands the game. She knows her teammates strengths and weaknesses very well. Sooner or later, we're going to have to stop great players in this league and Krystalyn is going to have to do her fair share of that.”
A pair of rookies, Tracy Harbut and Lauren Kohn, will also see some time at the guard spot. Harbut, an all-state selection at Bryan Station High School in Lexington, Ky., averaged 13.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.3 steals and 2.1 blocks per game in her senior season.
"Tracy gives us good size on the perimeter which is something we're going to need," Cieplicki said. "She's player who will attack the hoop. She's a good rebounder and a solid defender."
Kohn also adds some height on the outside, standing 5-10. An outstanding athlete at Adrian High School in Adrian, Mich., Kohn was a candidate for both the Michigan Miss Basketball and Miss Volleyball awards as a senior. She was a first-team all-state pick in basketball, averaging 18.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game in 2002-03.
"Lauren is rock solid," Cieplicki said. "She has good maturity and understands the game. She's good defender and can make shots.“
Frontcourt
While the Orangewomen guards were the focal point in 2002-03, the SU forwards and centers will have a lot to say about the success of this season's squad. In addition to Jean and Jackson, sophomore Jill Norton, a 22-game starter at center last season, is back. The inside game will also receive a boost from the return of redshirt junior Chineze Nwagbo. Nwagbo, a big part of the 2001-02 squad that went to the NCAA Tournament, missed all of last season after suffering a knee injury in the 2002 BIG EAST Tournament.
"Sooner or later, though, if we're going to have success, we have to establish an inside game. Teams succeed by getting the ball inside and making something good happen, and I think that's what you'll see from our team this year."
Norton and Nwagbo will man the center position. Norton became just the fifth freshman to start at least 20 games for SU since the start of the 1993-94 season. She scored 1.6 points per game, playing 14.3 minutes a contest. Those numbers will likely increase as the Orangewomen will seek more production from the paint this season.
Norton flashed scoring ability, hitting for seven points versus Binghamton last year.
"We'll rely on Jill much more as a scoring threat this year," Cieplicki said. "In some ways, it might be a little bit like her having a freshman year all over again, but the great news is she's only a sophomore. I think there's a great upside there. She can do some things that will surprise people. There is a variety of things we'll ask her to do that she didn't do last year."
Nwagbo, playing for the first time in 19 months, was SU's second-leading rebounder in 2001-02, grabbing 6.4 caroms per game. She also contributed to the offense at a 8.4 points per game clip. Perhaps her biggest contribution that was missed last season was her physical presence in the middle.
"Chinny is very enthusiastic and aggressive," Cieplicki said. "Offensively, the whole key is being efficient. She'll be able to catch the ball inside and we need her to convert those opportunities."
Jackson will take on a more versatile role this season. Last season played the majority of her minutes at the center position. This year she'll be counted on in a new role at the small forward spot. Jackson played all 28 games last season, including two starts. She led the team in blocked shots with 37, the most by an SU player since 1993-94. She was also solid on the glass with 4.4 rebounds per game, the third-best average on the squad. Jackson's best game came against ninth-ranked Vanderbilt when she scored 16 points and had 11 rebounds.
"Tierra has a great variety of gifts and skills," Cieplicki said. "She runs real well and gets the ball to the rim. She's a great athlete. She can score inside and can also play small forward.”
Another option at the small forward is junior Sarah Wegrzynowicz. Wegrzynowicz has seen limited time in her first two seasons, but adds another player with shooting ability to the lineup.
"Sarah can make shots," Cieplicki said. "My job is to put her in situations where she can succeed. She brings a lot of the intangibles. We need to create some opportunities for her to have success on the floor."
Jean is another versatile athlete who can play both forward positions. She stepped up her play in the BIG EAST season, increasing her scoring average to 11.4 points per game and grabbing 7.6 boards per conference game. She shot 46.6 percent from the floor, second-best on the team, and made 13 three-pointers. She also dished out 60 assists and had 44 steals.
"April has a good understanding of the game," Cieplicki said. "She'll probably play a little bit of everything.”
Schedule
At least 12 games versus 2003 NCAA Tournament teams, including a home game with defending national champion Connecticut, highlight the 2003-04 schedule.
The Orangewomen will play 10 non-conference games, eight of them away from Manley Field House. SU opens the season on November 22 at Binghamton. The home opener follows on November 25 versus Massachusetts. The Orangwomen's only other home non-conference game is versus Yale on December 7.
SU will play three games in Honolulu at the Rainbow Wahine Classic hosted by the University of Hawaii. SU will face Montana, a 2003 WNIT qualifier, on November 28 in the first round.
Other potential opponents in Hawaii include Hartford, Hawaii, Navy, Arizona, Virginia and 2003 Final Four participant Texas.
The Orangewomen play road non-conference games at George Washington on December 4, Cornell on December 20, Colorado on December 30 and Vanderbilt on January 2. The Colonials, Buffaloes and Commodores all advanced to at least the second round of last season's NCAA Tournament.
The BIG EAST schedule starts on January 7 at Pittsburgh. It will be the Orangewomen's first trip to the Petersen Events Center. SU's first conference home game is on January 10 versus St. John's. Syracuse will play home-and-home series with Rutgers, Notre Dame and West Virginia.
Syracuse plays six of the seven BIG EAST teams that made the NCAA Tournament last season at home. The Orangewomen will face Rutgers (Jan. 14), Notre Dame (Jan. 21), West Virginia (Jan. 24), Virginia Tech (Jan. 31), Connecticut (Feb. 11), Miami (Feb. 18) and Boston College (Feb. 28) at Manley Field House.
The BIG EAST road schedule features games at Providence (Jan. 17), Villanova (Jan. 27), Rutgers (Feb. 3), West Virginia (Feb. 7), Seton Hall (Feb. 14), Georgetown (Feb. 25), and Notre Dame (March 2).
The 2004 BIG EAST Tournament will be held at the Hartford Civic Center, March 6-9.
