Syracuse Basketball: Quadir Copeland likened to Michael Carter-Williams

Syracuse basketball just got going with 2022 point guard Quadir Copeland, but the relationship is blossoming.

Syracuse basketball offered 2022 point guard Quadir Copeland about two weeks ago, and Orange coaches held a virtual call with the 6-foot-6, fast-rising prospect earlier this week, according to several media reports.

Copeland spoke with head coach Jim Boeheim, assistant Gerry McNamara, who is his primary recruiter, and the other ‘Cuse coaches, per these reports.

Orange coaches are telling Copeland that, should he ultimately select Syracuse basketball as his collegiate destination, Copeland will have the “Michael Carter-Williams role,” he told Mike McAllister, the publisher of SyracuseOnSI, in an article.

Carter-Williams, a talented and tall point guard, is a former Orange star who helped lead the ‘Cuse to the 2013 Final Four and has played in the NBA ever since.

"Copeland said to McAllister, “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.”"

Syracuse basketball and 2022 point guard Quadir Copeland are forging a solid relationship.

With 2022 five-star point guard Dior Johnson out of the picture, other point guards in this class have moved front and center for the Orange.

That includes Copeland, and perhaps long-time target J.J. Starling, a four-star prospect, as well as possibly Bryce Lindsay, a high-school player from Baltimore whose stock is definitely climbing.

At this juncture, Copeland holds scholarship offers from the ‘Cuse, Miami, Maryland, Oregon, Penn State, Saint Joseph’s, La Salle and Siena.

McAllister writes that Syracuse basketball, fellow Atlantic Coast Conference squad Miami and Pac-12 Conference heavyweight Oregon “continue to recruit him hard.”

Although not presently ranked by all of the primary recruiting Web sites, the 247Sports Composite rates Copeland No. 170 overall in the 2022 cycle, the No. 27 combo guard and the No. 9 prospect in the state of New Jersey. The 247Sports recruiting service places Copeland as the No. 28 combo guard and the No. 9 player in New Jersey.

While recruiting services describe him as a combo guard, Copeland enthusiastically has said in multiple interviews that he is a point guard, and that he appreciates Orange coaches recruiting him as a point guard.

Last season, Copeland averaged 22.1 points per contest for Gettysburg Area High School in Gettysburg, Pa. Copeland now attends Life Center Academy in Burlington, N.J., where former Syracuse basketball star Dion Waiters also played.

"Copeland said of his recent Zoom call with ‘Cuse coaches, “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.”"