Maja Omanovic stood there, on the wing just outside the 3-point line, for 20 minutes yesterday at Syracuse women’s basketball practice. She was fixated, her only objective to periodically catch the ball and swing it around the perimeter to teammates.

Clad in the blue half of SU’s orange-and-blue reversible practice jerseys — signifying her second-team status — Omanovic was playing her part in a drill created to improve the first team’s defensive rotation.

When the time finally came for Omanovic to trade her blue top for empowering orange garb, she was replaced on the second team by a manager wearing jeans and a hooded sweatshirt. Omanovic’s stint in orange lasted about five minutes, just long enough for coach Marianna Freeman to reprimand her for using an incorrect post-defense technique.

Omanovic’s limited participation in practice mirrors her contribution during SU’s games. Omanovic, a senior power forward and center, has played in just 10 of the Orangewomen’s 20 games, starting two of them. She averages six minutes.

‘Sometimes, you practice and you don’t play,’ Freeman said. ‘Sometimes, you practice and you do play. It just kind of comes with the game.’

Omanovic’s scant playing time comes as a surprise after a promising junior season — her first with Syracuse after transferring from New Mexico Junior College — in which she averaged 8.6 minutes, played in 23 of 31 games and started four times.

After her first season adjusting to Division-I play, Omanovic appeared poised for a breakout season.

‘I think we’ll see the true Maja this year,’ Freeman said prior to this season. ‘Everybody, including myself, is going to be pleasantly surprised.’

Well, Freeman might be surprised, but not in the way she imagined. Omanovic started the season-opening game at Siena on Nov. 15 and played 15 serviceable first-half minutes, scoring four points.

In the second half, though, she was vanquished to the bench. Omanovic started Syracuse’s next game, Nov. 22 at Harvard, and played another 15 minutes. She then spiraled down SU’s depth chart and hasn’t seen significant playing time since.

‘Others are playing better (than Omanovic),’ Freeman said.

The said others are junior-college transfer April Jean and freshmen Jill Norton and Tierra Jackson. Jean, a power forward, has been a fixture in the starting lineup since the Harvard game, and Norton and Jackson have split time at center.

The three post players that have leapfrogged Omanovic all have clear roles. Jean’s versatile game at forward fits perfectly into the Orangewomen’s offense. Jackson has a smooth post arsenal. Norton’s defensive punch solidifies SU’s 2-3 zone.

The slender, 6-foot-2 Omanovic, though, is a classic ‘tweener’ — a player who falls in the gap between power forward and center.

‘Maja really isn’t a post player,’ Freeman said. ‘I’ve played her out of position the two years that she’s been here, in her defense. She is more of a (power forward) stepping out, as most European players are.’

While Omanovic’s role on the court this year has been undefined, Freeman is grateful for Omanovic’s performance. She dutifully plods along with her fellow Blue Shirts, sharpening her teammates for the Big East spotlight — something she likely won’t experience.

‘She’s a team player,’ Freeman said. ‘She has tried to give me what we’ve needed. She’s sacrificed herself. Her contribution has been one of the greatest ones because she’s sacrificed herself.’

Published on February 4, 2003 at 12:00 pm