Taylor, Copeland Teaming Up at IMG is Great for Syracuse Basketball

The future teammates will begin forming chemistry before they arrive in Central New York.

Mike McAllister | Aug 15, 2021

Taylor, Copeland Teaming Up at IMG is Great for Syracuse Basketball /

Two Syracuse commits are headed south to wrap up their high school careers, and that is tremendous news for the Orange basketball program. Shooting guard commit Justin Taylor announced his decision to transfer to IMG Academy for his senior season, and will join point guard Quadir Copeland at the school. Copeland announced his transfer back in April.

"Quadir and I can't wait to starting playing together and build this chemistry before we even get to Cuse," Taylor said.

Both Taylor and Copeland will join the Syracuse program in the summer of 2022. They will play for the Orange beginning the 22-23 season. Joining forces at IMG before that begins gives them a leg up on learning how to play together, play off of one another and developing on-court chemistry. Having a full year to help hit the ground running when they arrive will only benefit the Syracuse basketball program.

Backcourt mates can play a large role on successful teams. Taylor and Copeland want to be a big part of the future of Syracuse basketball. They can start those building blocks at IMG.

The two already have an established relationship. Taylor and Copeland have gotten to know each other throughout the recruiting cycle. They spoke about the process, and Taylor helped recruit Copeland to Syracuse after Taylor committed. The next step is taking that relationship and turning it into success on the court.

IMG Academy is one of the better high school basketball programs in the country. They play a difficult schedule and have several of their players go to division one programs each year. That includes Benny Williams to Syracuse last year as Williams played for the post-grad program (IMG has both undergrad and post-grad basketball programs. Taylor and Copeland will also play for the post-grad squad). The coaches at IMG know how to prepare elite talent for immediate contribution at the high major level.

The level of competition and development at IMG will benefit both Taylor and Copeland individually as well as collectively. It is the perfect spot to work on their on-court relationship. That should prove fruitful for Syracuse.

Published Aug 15, 2021

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.