Born in Sumas in northwest Washington,[1] he was an all-state guard known as "Slippery Joe" at Nooksack Valley High School in Whatcom County and graduated in 1949.

[2] "Jumping Joe"[3] was an All-PCC guard in college under coach Tippy Dye at Washington in Seattle, and led the Huskies to a 79–15 (.840) record in his three years on the varsity.

Cipriano ran the Big Eight basketball program for over 17 years, until he lost his 18-month battle with pancreatic cancer in Lincoln in November 1980 at age 49.

In his third year at Lincoln, the 1965–66 Huskers tallied the program's first 20-win season, runner-up to fourth-ranked Kansas (13–1) in the Big Eight at 12–2,[12] handing the Jayhawks their sole conference loss,[13] but did not garner a postseason bid.

Less than a year before his death, Cipriano returned to Moscow when his Huskers took on Don Monson's Vandals in the Kibbie Dome in early January.