June 7 – Syracuse lost its head coach on Tuesday. Now the women’s basketball team has lost a player as well.

Shooting guard Amanda Adamson confirmed last night in an e-mail to The Daily Orange that she transferred out of Syracuse but did not say where.

But Greg Remington, University of New Mexico’s associate athletic director for administration and media relations, said Adamson, who will be a junior, has enrolled at the school.

Adamson’s confirmation came in response to a request for comment regarding Keith Cieplicki’s resignation yesterday and the hiring of assistant coach Quentin Hillsman as interim coach.

Adamson’s comment implies she transferred before Cieplicki resigned.

‘I decided to transfer, so I am not sure how(the coaching change will) affect the team now,’ Adamson wrote.

Adamson did not write the reason as to why she transferred. She has not returned an e-mail seeking follow-up questions.

Adamson is the sixth player and ninth person overall from the women’s basketball program at Syracuse to unexpectedly leave since spring 2004.

Three players left in spring 2004; an assistant coach in December 2004; and two more players, an assistant coach and the director of basketball operations in April 2005.

Adamson hopes she’ll play an instrumental role for the Lobos, a team that finished with a 22-10 record, 11-5 mark in the Mountain West Conference, a Top 25 ranking and a second-round appearance in the NCAA tournament as a No. 12 seed.

That success clashes with what Adamson has experienced during her two years at Syracuse under Cieplicki, when the team went a combined 22-34. Adamson started only two of her 25 appearances, although her time increased once shooting guard Ashley McMillen tore her meniscus in one of her knees.

McMillen and sophomore Jenny Eckhart were ahead of Adamson on the depth chart at shooting guard.

During her freshman year, Adamson played in 27 games and started 13. Nonetheless, she played a limited role both years. Adamson averaged 4.3 points a game her freshman year and 2.8 points her sophomore year.

Either way, Adamson’s role was limited – her .293 shooting percentage this year was as effective as the Orange’s 9-18 campaign.

Back in February, both Cieplicki and Adamson told The D.O. part of her shooting struggles rooted in her apprehensiveness to shoot and her confidence level, which often created an overlapping cycle that was hard to break.

Cieplicki’s solution was to shoot more. But it didn’t work. Adamson never publicly faulted Cieplicki’s strategy. She credited Cieplicki’s playing experience at Vermont but admitted it was easier said than done to follow Cieplicki’s advice because her shots weren’t falling.

‘I’ve always grown up being unselfish and looking to pass a lot,’ Adamson told The D.O. in February. ‘I’m getting it from all angles that I need to shoot more. So I’m really trying to improve that in my game.’

The three players who left the Syracuse program in the spring of 2004 – Marchelle Campbell, Tierra Jackson and April Jean – accused Cieplicki of threatening scholarships, making racially insensitive remarks and acting disrespectfully toward players and administrative staff.

Cieplicki and former athletic director Jake Crouthamel denied the allegations.

Assistant coach Morgan Hall abruptly left the team in December 2004.

In April 2005, players Lauren Kohn and Jessica Richter left because they were unhappy with the program. Assistant coach Mandy Ronay and Director of Basketball Operations Amy Reckner left at the same time.

Return to dailyorange.com for updates.

Published on August 7, 2006 at 12:00 pm