Recruit of the Week: Quadir Copeland

The class of 2022 point guard discusses a recent zoom call with the Syracuse staff, interest in the Orange, schools recruiting him the hardest and more.

Mike McAllister | Nov 24, 2020

Recruit of the Week: Quadir Copeland /

Player: Quadir Copeland

Height, Weight: 6-6, 175

School: Life Center Academy (New Jersey)

Offers: La Salle, Maryland, Miami, Oregon, Penn State, Syracuse

Copeland was offered by Syracuse earlier this month, and spent Sunday night on a Zoom call with the Orange staff.

"The call wasn't too long, about 30 or 35 minutes," Copeland said. "I talked to the whole coaching staff, coach G-Mac, coach Boeheim, the other coaches. It was just about how I could better the program and how I could fit into the program. Their goals for me getting into the program. That's really it. Coach Boeheim is a great guy."

During the zoom meeting, Syracuse went in depth on how Copeland fits including a player comp.

"They gave me the Michael Carter-Williams role," Copeland said. "They were just saying that would be your role. That's the kind of guy we have, so that would be the role you would play. Being compared to a star who became an NBA player, that's the highest caliber of basketball. So being compared to a player who made it that far, it's definitely an amazing feeling. To fulfill those goals would be great too."

Copeland's primary recruiter at Syracuse is Gerry McNamara. The two have been strengthening their relationship since the Orange offered.

"He's in contact every day," Copeland said. "Coach G-Mac, he's a real good guy. He's really interested in his recruits. He shows interest in you. You watch a lot of interviews, you see a lot of those things that you like. He's just a really good guy. It's just like regular human beings. He asks 'how was your day. How's the gym? What are you getting into at the gym? How's the family?'

"Basically just what normal people do. It's not always about basketball with him and that's why there's a good relationship between us."

Copeland does not have a virtual visit scheduled currently, but he has discussed the possibility with the coaching staff. He says it is in the works.

During this basketball season, Copeland says he plans to watch all of the teams that have offered to watch style of play and see how he would fit into their systems. That includes Syracuse.

As a class of 2022 prospect, Copeland's recruitment is just getting started. He says he has no plans to make a decision anytime soon as he is just enjoying the process. That said, in addition to Syracuse, Miami and Oregon continue to recruit him hard.

Syracuse will be a school that will be involved throughout his recruitment.

Published Nov 24, 2020

MIKE MCALLISTER

Title: Publisher All Syracuse Education: Roberts Wesleyan College Location: Syracuse, New York Expertise: Syracuse basketball, football and recruiting. EXPERIENCE Mike McAllister has been covering Syracuse basketball, football and recruiting for more than a decade. Mike's career started with his own free blog as a way to vent following sporting events. Shortly thereafter, a network of basketball sites called Coast 2 Coast Hoops asked him to run their Syracuse site. That site was called Nation of Orange, and Mike quickly established it as a go-to for Syracuse fans. After running Nation of Orange for several months, a position with the Syracuse site on the Scout network became available. After one year as the recruiting expert with Cuse Nation, he was named the publisher. Mike oversaw the transition from Scout to 247Sports, and ran the site on that network for years. Presented with the opportunity to join one of the biggest names in the sports journalism industry, Sports Illustrated, Mike jumped at the chance. All Syracuse was started from scratch by Mike and the Fan Nation team. It has now become a staple for Orange fans of various sports. Mike has broken news on recruiting, Syracuse basketball and football team information and has established himself as the top recruiting inside in the market. He has appeared on local radio shows, television broadcasts, national radio shows and much more. Mr. McAllister has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting and Information Management from Roberts Wesleyan College.