By ADAM ZAGORIA
Quadir Copeland, the No. 28 ranked combo guard in the Class of 2022, committed to Syracuse on Tuesday.
The 6-foot-6, 175-pound guard from IMG (FL) Academy and the New Jersey Scholars Elite AAU Program chose the Orange over Oklahoma State, Oregon, La Salle, DePaul, Miami, Maryland and Penn State.
Copeland took his only official visit to Syracuse on June 22.
“The best part really was, in my eyes, going to coach Boeheim’s house for dinner,” he told SI after the visit. “Just chillin’ with the whole team. That was amazing just being around all of those types of people and it just felt like a family there. No one treated me like I was a high school kid or treated me any differently. They treated me like I was already going to Syracuse. So it was just normal with how we bonded and connected. It was just a regular team. Nobody was acting like they were too big. Everybody was treating me like I was one of them. Even coach Boeheim. I got talk to him a lot over this visit. Amazing guy. Wise guy. He had a lot of history to back it up. You would think he’d forget some but he remembers it all from Earl the Pearl Monroe to Dion Waiters to Michael Carter-Williams. He remembered all that. He had so many stories to tell us and we were all eager to listen to him. That was really the best part of the trip.”
Asked what their message was, he said: “Basically, ‘we’d love to have you here to play our point guard.’ They feel I have what it takes.”
IMG postgraduate coach Chad Myers said Copeland is a perfect match for Syracuse.
“Quadir is a long athletic play making point guard,” he said. “His size and vision allow him to make plays for others that a lot of point guards can’t make. He is capable of getting to the paint and making plays for himself and teammates. His length on defense allows him to guard multiple positions in the modern day game of basketball where a lot of people switch. This length will also cause havoc at the top of the Syracuse 2-3 zone.”
Copeland joins wings Justin Taylor and Kamari Lands in Syracuse’s 2022 class.
Photo: SI
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