How does Will Wade compliment Quadir Copeland? By calling him ‘a cockroach’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Will Wade likens Quadir Copeland to a cockroach, praising persistence and toughness.
- Copeland delivered 16 points, seven rebounds and nine assists against Ole Miss.
- Copeland’s toughness and persistence a model for rest of the team.
It’s difficult to kill cockroaches due to physical properties, adaptability, speed and toughness. They’re generally considered as one of the most hated bugs because of their unrelenting tenacity.
N.C. State head coach Will Wade compares his senior guard Quadir Copeland to the insect — as a compliment. Upon the initial description, it’s not typically the kind of creature one with which a person would want to be associated.
But Wade, who has shared this with Copeland on prior occasions, has good reasoning behind the comparison.
“He’s hard to kill,” Wade said. “Every time you write him off, or every time you let him, he just comes back and comes back. He keeps coming. He’s got an unbelievable level of persistence to him.”
Copeland has shown, especially in recent weeks, the toughness and fight of, yes, a cockroach.
The Wolfpack defeated Ole Miss, 76-62, on Sunday in Greensboro and Copeland was a main contributor on most plays.
He scored the team’s first basket of the game on a 3-pointer, assisted by Alyn Breed. During the first-half stretch when the Wolfpack went 7 of 8 from 3-point land, including six in a row, Copeland recorded the assist on six. He made the seventh.
The senior added a backward dunk on a fastbreak early in the second half and regularly muscled his way into the lane for difficult shots or kick it out to a teammate.
On defense, Copeland didn’t mind being disruptive or pressuring the ball. He and Musa Sagnia partnered on a double team. Though the Wolfpack didn’t win the jump ball, their efforts led to shot clock violation shortly after the Rebels inbounded on the subsequent play.
Copeland finished with 16 points, seven rebounds, nine assists and one steal. It’s the second game this season he flirted with a triple-double.
He averaged 14.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 5.4 assists during nonconference play. He also averaged a 2.3 assist-to-turnover ratio. The team is 7-3 when Copeland has at least four assists.
Copeland’s teammates credit him for setting them up for big shots, but he often returns the favor by crediting them for making the shots. It allows him to be a pass-first guy, which he wants to be.
“I love being able to make that pass to them,” Copeland said. “Them hitting big shots, it gets me going. Makes me want to play more.”
The coaching staff knew what it had when Copeland joined the team after spending last year with Wade at McNeese. He’s taken things to a new level.
“He’s been better and more than I could have ever thought when we brought him,” Wade said. “Just being frank, he’s playing a role that I didn’t envision when we brought him with us from McNeese. You could argue part of the reason we struggled is he’s playing a huge role, but give him credit.”
Big point guard, bigger personality
Copeland’s impact does not stop at the baseline. The guard has talked extensively about the value of Wade and his staff embracing his full personality.
He’s the player flexing his muscles after big plays. He’s the one lifting his jersey up in celebration. He always has a snarky quip for the refs, the opponents and his own teammates. He hypes up the crowd and his teammates with loud cheers and mean mugging facial expressions.
Copeland has always been this way, since he was a little guy playing street hoops in Philadelphia.
“You’ve got to protect yourself. You’ve also got to stand up for yourself in certain environments. Especially you out there, you’re playing with grown men and things like that,” Copeland said. “I just think I’m just a product of my environment. I just bring it to the court every time. I try to pick up my teammates, get them with the same fire as me. I feel like once we get rolling we’re all together and we’re all on the same page, it’s hard to stop.”
He’s the kind of player teams love to have but hate to face. Copeland wasn’t exactly an N.C. State fan favorite when he played for Syracuse.
Now that he’s with the Pack? Kids in the stands are screaming, “Quadir Copeland, can I have your jersey?”
Wade jokes that the media only sees him twice a week. The referees only see him once a month. His energy level is the same at 7 a.m. on Tuesdays, too.
Paul McNeil said Copeland brings the energy in every aspect: Practices, walk-throughs and the game. There’s no off button.
“He’s been great. He translates the stuff for the guys,” Wade said. “I said it after the last game. I think we’re getting everything we can out of him.”
The Wolfpack also needs more out of its other players. N.C. State played, consistently, a seven-man rotation in its win against Ole Miss. Wade isn’t afraid to do that — he did it at LSU — but he’d really like an eight- or nine-man lineup.
It starts by practicing well, producing in games and proving to the staff that they can be reliable and play with the toughness that’s expected.
“I played the seven guys I feel most comfortable with; seven guys that give me confidence, the seven guys, basically, that I trust,” Wade said. “Hopefully Santa brings me an eighth man for Christmas.”
The Red Reckoning can’t happen in earnest without players sharing the never-say-die mentality.
It needs players to emulate Copeland. It needs more cockroaches.
