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WASHINGTON — Quadir Copeland knew about the rivalry. Everyone did.

Syracuse head coach Adrian Autry played clips of past games prior to Saturday’s matchup with Georgetown — a reminder of what this meant. Judah Mintz and Benny Williams, both natives of the Washington Metropolitan area, told their teammates to “turn up the city when we come back.”

So when SU weathered a back-and-forth first half to pull away for good late in the second, Copeland needed to express a “little comeback” of his own. He looked out to a sea of Hoya fans and motioned that the game was effectively over.

“It was just to let them know, like, it’s over now. ‘You can stop the cheering. Go home early if you feel like it,’” Copeland said.

The 6-foot-6 guard had every right to perform the boisterous gesture. He totaled a career-high 14 points on 6-for-7 shooting. Copeland played for 25 minutes, showcasing reliable ball-handling to alleviate pressure off of Mintz and J.J. Starling — SU’s star backcourt tandem. He also tallied two offensive rebounds, the latter of both being a thunderous put-back dunk which triggered a ripple of pro-Syracuse chants around Capital One Arena (D.C.) during the Orange’s (7-3, 0-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) 80-68 victory over Georgetown (5-4, 0-0 Big East).

“I think he’s just scratching the surface of what he really can do,” Mintz said postgame. “I think once he gets more comfortable and his role keeps expanding for our team, I think the sky’s the limit for Quadir.”

For Copeland, success began on the defensive side. He was tasked with guarding Jayden Epps, Georgetown’s score-first guard — coined the “real deal” by Autry postgame. Combining with Mintz to consistently hound Epps around the perimeter, off of ball screens and following handoffs, Copeland’s unique length held the Hoya to 17 points. Epps went 1-for-9 from 3. He shot 35.3% overall.

Then, Copeland continued to do the little things. He snuck in from the weak side to put back Mintz’s turnaround jumper at the right elbow with two minutes remaining in the first half. The bucket gave Syracuse a 31-30 lead. Copeland made the right passes. He limited turnovers. He broke Georgetown’s full-court press.

After SU’s 81-70 victory over Cornell on Dec. 5, Copeland remembered Autry pulled him aside. The guard had matched a season-high four turnovers. Copeland told his head coach he didn’t trust himself. The lack of self-belief led to errant kick-outs and coughing up possession, a product of forcing the issue to get others involved — any way to look a little better on the stat sheet.

Autry told Copeland to let the “game come to you first.” The advice was to get settled before trying to do too much. “And that’s what I did tonight,” Copeland said.

Receiving the ball deep in his own backcourt, Copeland looked calm. He pivoted a couple times and surveyed his options. He dribbled methodically, crossing midcourt with ease opposite Georgetown’s Jay Heath. Then, a second gear kicked in and Copeland sped off down the right sideline. Seemingly untouched, he danced into the paint for a lay-in.

On another play, Copeland peeled off of a Mounir Hima screen and lost Heath in the process. Collecting the ball with an open lane in front of him, he drove forward and beat a converging Wayne Bristol Jr. for a two-handed flush. A confident flex directed toward the Hoyas’ student section followed.

“He gives us a third and sometimes fourth ball-handler out there. His versatility is what makes him so special,” Autry said postgame. “And he’s tough. He’s (6-foot-6), can play 1-through-4, has great quickness and he can make plays. Today he finished those plays and he was really good for us.”

Autry joked after the win that Copeland held the ability to “make things happen” or “make you cry.” The second emotion likely referred to Copeland’s poor shot selection at times. It could’ve been his 20 turnovers this season. It could’ve been his 62% clip at the free-throw line.

But on Saturday, the former arose — probably one of if not the leading factor behind Autry’s beaming smile when making the remark. Copeland had been getting better each week, Autry said, and today showed his growth on a historical stage.

“It wasn’t really a breakout game to me,” Copeland said. “Fourteen (points). It got us the win and I can do more, I feel like.”

At the 2:27 mark, Copeland’s delivered his emphatic dunk. It came off of a missed Starling layup and gave Syracuse a 74-60 advantage. Copeland had said he kept track of the drive and ensuing attempt the entire way. He didn’t even mean to dunk it. He just wanted the rebound. He was doing the little things. The fundamental things. Again.

“A lot of people think he’s just our glue guy but he’s much more than that,” Starling said. “He’s gifted offensively, very gifted defensively with his length, and he stepped up big time for us. I’m looking forward to seeing what he has for the rest of the season.”

Published on December 9, 2023 at 4:55 pm

Contact Tyler: [email protected] | @theTylerSchiff