WATCH: Around Raleigh With Coach Wade: Quadir Copeland (with transcript)

NC State Men’s Basketball released their next episode of Around Raleigh With Coach Wade today. Coach Wade sat down with Guard Quadir Copeland, who transferred to NC State this offseason from McNeese St.. You can read the transcript below, and watch the video underneath.

WW: Welcome to our next episode of Around Raleigh here with Quadir Copeland. We’re at beautiful Pullen Park right outside of campus in between downtown Raleigh and NC State. Incredible park. We’ve got a nice backdrop with the fountain here and we’re very, very excited to be here.

Excited to have Q running with the Pack. He played for us at McNeese and I know our fans here at NC State are going to love him. Q is one of those guys, when he’s with your team, you love him. When he’s not on your team, eh, he’s not so lovable, kind of like me.

I’ve coached him for a year, one of his best qualities is his personality gives the rest of the team confidence. When he’s on the court, everybody else is more confident playing with him. Everybody else is more confident being around him.

Let’s start with your high school career. You went to a few different high schools up in the Philadelphia area, and then you transferred to IMG Academy down in Florida, but you play a unique style of basketball. How did you develop that unique style of basketball, playing at the various high schools and at IMG?

QC: I feel like it really just came from the place I’m from, Philadelphia. Always growing up playing streetball, and always being outside as a kid. Always playing basketball. That’s where I got a bunch of my traits, and I just brought them along with me. A couple of things I’ve got to change, stuff to be better at, but you know, it’s just a lot of traits I brought from growing up.

The high school journey was a lot. Went from school to school, but you know, I think ending off at IMG, being able to be in a school like that, with all the top players and the top facilities, really prepared me for college and things like that.

Even being at Life Center Academy in New Jersey, the school I went to, hung some banners up and stuff in there. It’s a lot of good feelings.

The real reason I play basketball is because of my older brother. Watching him every day and just watching him work out and play, seeing how good he was. I started just doing that. I was literally just following him.

People probably don’t see it, but when y’all do see him, I look exactly like him. He’s like my twin.

WW: People think your twins, just add the tattoos.

QC: He’s literally my twin. I just always followed him with everything. He just led the way. He paved the way for me. He went through all the mistakes. So when my dad went through it with me, because we’re five years apart, we just got to see all the mistakes and everything. So he made my road a lot easier.

WW: Let’s talk about your first couple of years at Syracuse, because, as a freshman, it’s a challenge to exist at college, even though you’d been away at IMG. So you’d been away from home, and been moving around a little bit. Talk about the challenges you faced your first couple years.

QC: The main challenge was being a freshman coming in and trying to play in front of senior guards and senior bigs. That’s the main challenge, you know, being able to understand. I feel like that was the first time I got humbled.

I can always get over and play everywhere in high school. Then when you get to college, that’s when you get that humbling feeling and understand, like, you can have the best practices, you can have this, but sometimes it’s how the system is already made and how the older people want to get their time.

There’s certain stuff you’ve got to understand, you know, and I got to play with that. I feel like what really helped me with going to Syracuse was I got to play with all my friends. So I never had down moments. I was always cheering. I was always the hype guy because I knew my moment was going to come. I was cheering for all my friends.

It was hard for me to really be pouting and be hurt. That’s why I felt like my energy carried along. Then once I got to play, I just kept that with me. Wanting to stay with the same energy, the confident guy from being a guy on the bench, to now the guy playing all this time.

WW: As soon as we got beat by Purdue in the NCAA tournament, you came up to my hotel room and we talked about things and, you know, you were pretty adamant that you wanted to come, and we were going to make this happen. But, you know, why NC State? Why did you want to get back in the ACC? I think it’s a great move to come back to a league that you already have a history in, and a lot of people in the ACC already know you and know who you are.

Talk about what led you to NC State.

QC: Of course, you know, being in the ACC and seeing it, I played here two times already. I love the place. The fans here are amazing.

It was like I said, the trust factor with me and you. I felt like I was switching around since high school. We went to a couple high schools and now I’m going to college. I played for Boeheim, then Autry and then you. So it would have been straight into another coach. I just wanted to stick it out. I wanted to trust you. I trust your vision.

We both have good vision on stuff, and the relationship we built, I felt like it was only right to keep it going. I feel like you were really invested in my future, instead of just helping you here in this program. You were real invested into my future and helping me outside of this. I know that I’ve got a lifelong partner, lifelong friend, coach for the rest of my life. Being able to come with you at McNeese, and even my family knew that. That was really all it was. You kept your word with a lot of things, and you don’t get too much of that out of coaches.

WW: Talk about your improvement in shooting. You went to a shooting coach this summer. You haven’t shot it well over your career. We’re not hiding behind that, but you’re a much better shooter than your numbers have shown. Talk about the hard work that you put in this summer. You took some of your summer break and flew out on your own dime and paid for a shooting coach. Talk about that commitment, and what the fans can expect with your improved shot.

QC: Expect way more confidence in shooting it. The work I put in this summer over in Phoenix with Phil Beckner. He’s a great guy. He was real big on building my confidence on wanting to shoot it. I felt like that was really my main problem. Trying to find ways to do all this stuff, but not wanting to shoot the shot. Just accepting the shot when it’s there, and being confident knowing I could make it. He was just telling me that only comes with work. The more shots you shoot, the more comfortable you are with anything. That’s all I really did. I locked in. I fixed a couple of mechanics, but I just started shooting more. All that comes with repetition and just wanting to do it.

With the summer we’re having, I’ve been shooting a lot more shots. It’s just been comfortable with me.

WW: We’re very excited to have Q. He’s been tremendous for us this summer. He’s been like a coach, as our point guard, which has been great for me.

He’s been able to bridge the gap a little bit with the guys. ‘Hey, here’s what coach is saying, and here’s what he means. Hey, this stuff’s a little bit crazy, but it’s going to get us where we want to go, and it’s going to get you where you want to go.

So we’re thrilled to have Q running with the Pack. Excited to have him at NC state.

Don’t worry #WPN, you’re going to love @unoducat!

Episode 7 of Around Raleigh with Coach Wade. pic.twitter.com/uwWbDRCEI6

— NC State Men's Basketball (@PackMensBball) August 11, 2025