Tigers on Copelands radar

 

Class of 2014 prospect Isaac Copeland, a 6-foot-8 PF from Ravenscroft School in Raleigh, North Carolina, has a very nice list of offers from mid-major programs such as UNC-Charlotte, East Carolina, Buffalo, Fairfield, Winthrop, and a few others. Playing for Garner Road AAU this summer, though, has given Copeland some added exposure which has led to interest from bigger schools like Mizzou, Ohio State, and NC State.

"It's been getting kind of hectic, but not to bad. I'm kind of used to it know," said Copeland. "Western Kentucky talks to me pretty much everyday and I talked to Ohio St yesterday. I've heard from Mizzou a little bit, but they have mainly been talking to my AAU coach. I'm also taking a visit to NC State on Monday."

Even though Copeland has started to hear from Mizzou recently, he still doesn't know a lot about the Tigers. In fact, what sticks out to Copeland about Mizzou is something that Tiger fans would probably rather not think about.

"This sounds kind of bad, but the main thing I know about Mizzou is that they lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament last year," Copeland said.

Copeland did add that one game like that does not have much impact on the recruiting process it just happens to be the last image he has of Tiger basketball.

"Regardless of the game I'm definitely interested in Mizzou. They have a really good program that is on the rise," said Copeland.

Although big schools like Mizzou, Ohio State, and NC State have started to show interest none have extended an offer yet. With Copeland being in the class of 2014 that is not uncommon, but the schools he has talked to did mention an area to improve as they start to think about making offers.

"A lot of the bigger schools have been talking about making sure I hit the weight room," Copeland said. "I've been taking care of that lately getting in the weight room a lot. That's probably the main thing I've been hearing from schools. It's really important in college to come in strong."

Copeland does not have any time table on making a decision, but he does know what qualities he is looking for in a school.

"Mainly I'm looking for a place that has good academics because basketball isn't everything," said Copeland. "It's a big part of my life, but after basketball I want to have a good life as well so definitely academics first. I also want the school to have a coaching staff that I'm really comfortable with and a place that has a great basketball environment like Missouri."

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