Syracuse Basketball: Elite 2022 PG Quadir Copeland eyes campus visit

Syracuse basketball 2022 target Quadir Copeland is hoping to make a trip to Central New York at some point in the future, according to a report.

The 6-foot-6 Copeland, a supremely talented and under-rated point guard in this class, recently announced on Twitter that he would transfer from the Life Center Academy in Burlington, N.J., to one of the premier prep-school squads in the country, the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., for his senior stanza.

According to an article by Josh Verlin, the owner/editor of the City of Basketball Love Web site, “La Salle, Oregon and Syracuse have been talking to Copeland the most and when he can officially visit he plans to check out Miami, Syracuse and Oregon’s campuses in person.”

The NCAA recently said in a press release that all Division I sports may return to their regular recruiting efforts beginning on June 1, which means that high-school players such as Copeland can absolutely start thinking about where they might like to take their five official visits.

As we’ve previously detailed, the Orange offered a scholarship to Copeland last November, and his other offers include from Oregon, Miami, Maryland, Penn State, La Salle, Saint Joseph’s and Siena.

Syracuse basketball 2022 prospect Quadir Copeland wants to travel to the Hill.

Verlin’s piece notes that when it comes to Copeland’s recruitment, “Big Ten schools like Michigan and Iowa are reaching out.” That is not surprising, given Copeland’s skill-set, but it does concern me.

Michigan and Iowa are two juggernauts in the rugged Big Ten Conference, and both of those schools have fared well on the recruiting trail of late.

I firmly believe that Copeland, currently a junior, is going to thrive at the IMG Academy, which will likely result in more scholarship offers coming his way, as well as a rise in the national recruiting rankings for the 2022 class.

For now, the 247Sports Composite places Copeland as a three-star player and No. 160 overall within his class. Based on a variety of comments from analysts and recruiting insiders in recent months about him, don’t be surprised if Copeland ends up rated as a four-star, top-100 prospect in the 2022 cycle when all is said and done.

Copeland has spoken highly of the ‘Cuse, and it will prove important for the team to welcome him to campus for an official visit. But with Copeland set to shine on a bigger stage at the IMG Academy, it will likely get a whole lot tougher for Syracuse basketball to win out in this recruiting battle.