Cieplicki to Enter New England Basketball Hall of Fame
8/6/2003 1:28:25 PM | Women's Basketball
KINGSTON, R.I. - Syracuse women's basketball coach Keith Cieplicki will be one of 26 honorees inducted into the second class of the New England Basketball Hall of Fame on September 19 at the Ryan Center on the campus of the University of Rhode Island.
Cieplicki is one of 11 former players who will be enshrined in the Class of 2003. Other members of this year's class include current and former NBA players Travis Best (Springfield Central), Caron Butler (Maine Central Institute), Mike Gminski (Masuk High School), Lenny Wilkens (Providence College) and the late Reggie Lewis (Northeastern University). Also being inducted are six coaches, three championship teams and six contributors to the sport of basketball who have made an impact on the face of New England basketball.
Cieplicki is being honored for his standout playing career at Rice Memorial High School in Burlington, Vt. He was the Burlington Free Press Player of the Year during his scholastic career and was recently named to the Barre Times Argus "Dream Dozen," which honored the 12 greatest Vermont boys and girls basketball players since 1960.
Cieplicki was a three-time all-conference and three-time Academic All-American performer at William & Mary where he earned a bachelor's degree in religion in 1985. He is a member of the William & Mary Athletic Hall of Fame and had his #14 jersey retired. He was a seventh-round draft pick by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1985. Sports Illustrated ranked Cieplicki as the 48th-best athlete in the history of the State of Vermont in their December 27, 1999 issue listing the "Top 50 Athletes" in each state.
"Our most important objective was to honor a wide variety of individuals and teams whose contributions have been vitale to the New England basketball story," said Dan Doyle, the Founder and Executive Director of the Institute for International Sport at URI. "This class of inductees is every bit as compelling as the first class. One of the best parts of this project is being able to tell people of their selection."
Cieplicki is in his first year as the head women's basketball coach at Syracuse after serving as the head coach at the University of Vermont. At Vermont, Cieplicki guided the Catamounts to a 127-53 overall record (.706), won three America East Conference regular-season championships (1998, 2000, 2002) and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2000. Cieplicki also guided UVM to the third round of the WNIT in 2002. He was named America East Coach of the Year in 2000 and 2002. In six seasons as head coach of the Catamounts, Cieplicki averaged 21 wins and never had a losing season.
For more information about the New England Basketball Hall of Fame and the 2003 induction ceremonies, visit www.internationalsport.com/basketball.
