McNeese State junior guard Quadir Copeland will be joining his former coach and one of his former teammates in Raleigh.
Copeland entered the transfer portal Thursday with a “do not contact” tag and later picked NC State on Friday. He is reunited with new NCSU coach Will Wade and guard teammate Alyn Breed.
The 6-foot-6, 200-pound Copeland averaged 9.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game in his first year at McNeese State, which went 28-7 and upset No. 5-seeded Clemson in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Copeland, who can play small forward or point guard, had 16 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals in the win over Clemson. He also had seven turnovers.
Purdue held Copeland to nine points and four assists in 21 minutes before he fouled out in the 76-62 loss in the second round March 22.
Copeland had an up-and-down season at McNeese State. He started slowly and came off the bench. He didn’t move into the starting lineup until Dec. 28, when McNeese State hosted New Orleans. He responded with 11 points and 10 assists in what was one of three double-doubles this season for points and assists.
Copeland scored a season-high 21 points and eight assists in a 93-63 win over Texas-Rio Grande Valley.
The Philadelphia native attended Gettysburg (Pa.) High his first two years, and then went to Life Center Academy in Burlington, N.J., his junior year. Copeland finished at prep powerhouse Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy and was ranked No. 102 overall by Rivals.com in the class of 2022.
Copeland signed with Syracuse over offers from Connecticut, DePaul, Maryland, Miami (Fla.), Oklahoma State, Oregon, Penn State, Iona and La Salle.
Copeland didn’t play much his freshman year and had 42 points and 31 rebounds in 20 games played. He emerged his sophomore year and averaged 9.6 point, 4.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 22.3 minutes per game off the bench for the Orange.
The high flying Copeland played against NC State three different times and recorded his career-high with 25 points and eight rebounds in 26 minutes during a 87-83 win in Raleigh on Feb. 20, 2024.
Copeland had five points and four boards in a 77-65 home win Jan. 27, 2024, and he added 11 points, five rebounds, four assists and recorded six turnovers in a 83-65 loss against NC State in the ACC Tournament on March 13, 2024.
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