Keith Cieplicki

{{Infobox basketball biography

| name = Keith Cieplicki

| image =

| image_size =

| caption =

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 4

| weight_lb = 165

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1963|6|6}}

| birth_place = Burlington, Vermont, U.S.

| high_school = Rice Memorial
(South Burlington, Vermont)

| college = William & Mary (1981–1985)

| draft_year = 1985

| draft_round = 7

| draft_pick = 161

| draft_team = Los Angeles Lakers

| career_position = Shooting guard

| cyears1 = 1986–1987 | cteam1 = Vermont (men's asst.)

| cyears2 = 1987–1991 | cteam2 = Rice Mem. HS (boys' HC)

| cyears3 = 1991–1993 | cteam3 = Vermont (women's asst.)

| cyears4 = 1993–1995 | cteam4 = Boston College (women's asst.)

| cyears5 = 1995–1997 | cteam5 = Rice Mem. HS (girls' HC)

| cyears6 = 1997–2003 | cteam6 = Vermont

| cyears7 = 2003–2006 | cteam7 = Syracuse

| highlights =

As player:

3× First-team All-ECAC South (1983–1985)
No. 14 retired by William & Mary Tribe

As coach:

3× America East regular season champion (1998, 2000, 2002)
2× America East Coach of the Year (2000, 2002)

}}

Keith Cieplicki (born June 6, 1963) is an American former college basketball player and women's college basketball coach. From 1997 to 2003, he coached at Vermont, where he posted a 127–53 (.705) record. He left Vermont to take the head coaching job at Syracuse. In his three seasons there, he posted a 28–55 overall record. After the 2006 season he resigned.{{cite web|url=http://cuse.com/coaches.aspx?rc=66|title=Syracuse University Athletics - 2005-06 Women's Basketball Coaching Staff|website=cuse.com}} He was named one of the 50 Greatest Sports Figures from Vermont by Sports Illustrated.{{cite web|url=https://www.si.com/vault/1999/12/27/274021/the-50-greatest-sports-figures-from-vermont|title=The 50 Greatest Sports Figures From Vermont|publisher=}}{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/keith-cieplicki-1.html|title=Keith Cieplicki College Stats - College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com|website=College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com}}

Playing career

Cieplicki was the first Vermont high school player to ever score over 2,000 points while at Rice Memorial High School, where he played under his father Bernie Cieplicki Sr. He was a two-time Vermont high school athlete of the year and led Rice to a state title in 1980.

After high school, Cieplicki played college basketball at William & Mary where he was a three-time ECAC South first team all-conference selection and helped the Tribe reach its first-ever postseason tournament with a berth in the 1983 NIT.{{cite web|url=http://www.tribeathletics.com/news/2013/9/9/209255810.aspx|title=Former Tribe Standout Keith Cieplicki Named to Vermont Sports Hall of Fame|website=College of William & Mary}} Through 2020–21, Cieplicki is seventh all-time in scoring with 1,812 points at William & Mary and had his number 14 retired by the school.{{cite web|url=http://www.tribeathletics.com/sports/2015/10/9/MBB_1009151509.aspx?id=134|title=William & Mary Athletics - Men's Basketball Honors and Awards|website=www.tribeathletics.com}}

Cieplicki was taken in the seventh round by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1985 NBA draft.{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1985.html|title=1985 NBA Draft - Basketball-Reference.com|website=Basketball-Reference.com}}

Coaching career

In 1986, Cieplicki returned home and began his coaching career under Tom Brennan at Vermont. He then went back to his alma mater Rice where he was the head coach of the boys' basketball team. Cieplicki then transitioned to the Vermont women's program as an assistant under Cathy Inglese, and followed her to Boston College as an assistant between the years of 1991 and 1995. He returned to his alma mater once more, this time to coach the Rice girls' basketball team for two seasons before being named the head women's basketball coach at Vermont.

While at Vermont, his teams won three America East Conference regular season titles, and advanced to the NCAA tournament in 2000. In 2000, and 2002, he was named American East Conference Coach of the year. In 2003, he was named the head women's basketball coach at Syracuse and resigned in 2006.

Personal

Cieplicki is a member of the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame, New England Basketball Hall of Fame, Rice Memorial Athletic Hall of Fame and the William & Mary Athletic Hall of Fame. He comes from a prominent basketball family as his father Bernie Sr. won three Vermont state boys basketball championships as a coach, while brother Bernie Jr. played collegiately at both Fairfield and Vermont.{{cite web|url=http://www.vermontsportshall.com/2017cieplicki.html|title=Vermont Sports Hall of Fame > Bernie Cieplicki Sr.|website=www.vermontsportshall.com}}{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/bernie-cieplicki-1.html|title=Bernie Cieplicki College Stats - College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com|website=College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com}} His brother Kevin also coached the Rice boys program, while nephew Kyle played collegiately at Vermont and is a current assistant coach with the Catamounts.{{cite web|url=http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/sports/high-school/2015/02/10/set-join-vpa-hall-fame/23215171/|title=12 set to join VPA Hall of Fame|publisher=}}{{cite web|url=http://uvmathletics.com/coaches.aspx?rc=742|title=UVM Athletics|website=uvmathletics.com}}

He currently lives in Syracuse, New York and works in the non-profit sector.

References

External links

[http://www.vermontsportshall.com/2013cieplicki.html Vermont Sports Hall of Fame Bio]
https://web.archive.org/web/20060624235105/http://suathletics.com/news/basketball/wbasket/2006/6/6/ciplickiresign.asp?path=wbasket

{{America East Conference Women's Basketball Coach of the Year navbox}}

Category:1963 births

Category:Living people

Category:American men's basketball players

Category:American women's basketball coaches

Category:Basketball coaches from Vermont

Category:Basketball players from Vermont

Category:Boston College Eagles women's basketball coaches

Category:High school basketball coaches in Vermont

Category:Los Angeles Lakers draft picks

Category:Shooting guards

Category:Sportspeople from Burlington, Vermont