Syracuse Basketball: Rankings for 4-star Quadir Copeland are ludicrous

Syracuse basketball coaches have been involved with stellar 2022 point guard Quadir Copeland since late last year, and his stock is on the rise, according to numerous national recruiting analysts.

The 6-foot-6 Copeland is playing quite well on the AAU circuit with the Millburn, N.J.-based New Jersey Scholars Elite Basketball Club, and he’s headed to a national prep-school powerhouse for his senior year, which will increase his exposure.

One of the main recruiting services recently gave some love to Copeland, but for reasons I can’t understand, he is still vastly under-rated by other recruiting Web sites as it pertains to the 2022 cycle.

Look, I get that these sorts of rankings are subjective, and they have to get taken with the proverbial grain of salt. But for my money, Copeland is undeniably a four-star, top-100 prospect in his class. He could end up even higher than that when all is said and done.

Syracuse basketball is firmly in the mix for four-star point guard Quadir Copeland.

When Rivals.com recently updated its national rankings for the 2022 class, Copeland entered these ratings as four stars, No. 85 overall and No. 22 at point guard. That seems reasonable to me.

Yet when ESPN came out with its top-100 prospects for this cycle not too long ago, Copeland was nowhere to be found. I’m sorry, but there aren’t 100 better players than him in the 2022 class.

Prep Hoops has Copeland placed at No. 74 across the country, which again, seems like a pretty solid arrangement. But then 247Sports and the industry-generated 247Sports Composite have Copeland as a three-star player. I simply don’t get this.

The 247Sports recruiting service says that Copeland is the No. 28 combo guard. The 247Sports Composite, meanwhile, ranks him as No. 142 overall and No. 24 at combo guard. That national rating is absurd, from my perspective.

Copeland recently visited the Hill, and it appears that Syracuse basketball has a great shot to land him. His other offers include from Maryland, Rick Pitino-led Iona, Oklahoma State, Connecticut, Oregon, Miami, Penn State, La Salle, Saint Joseph’s and Siena.

For his senior term, Copeland has decided to transfer from the Life Center Academy in Burlington, N.J., to the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.

If he continues to shine in AAU events and also at the IMG Academy later this year, there is no reason why Copeland shouldn’t arrive as a top-50 to top-75 prospect in his class.