Wolfpack Guard Quadir Copeland Earns ACC Honors
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RALEIGH — After transferring from McNeese State and joining Will Wade, NC State senior guard Quadir Copeland earned Third-Team All-ACC honors, per an announcement from the league on Monday. The savvy point guard broke out in a major way in what will be his lone season playing for the Wolfpack, helping the program finish the regular season with a 19-12 overall record.
Copeland's edge and craftiness were crucial in the success of the team throughout the early part of the league season. While things crumbled down the stretch for the team, the guard's play remained among the best on the roster, helping the Wolfpack earn a bid in the ACC Tournament, with NCAA Tournament hopes still very much alive as March gets underway.
Looking back at Copeland's season with the Wolfpack
Copeland quickly became the engine driving the Wolfpack, acting as a far more ball-dominant point guard than Wade and his staff expected him to be when they first brought him into the program. There was a trust between the coach and the player, established during their time at McNeese State, when both battled to rejuvenate their college basketball lives in the Southland Conference.
That trust paid off, as Copeland became one of the best distributors in his return to the ACC, as he began his career with Syracuse. The senior finished the season tied for first with SMU's Boopie Miller in assists per game, averaging 6.6. He also chipped in with 13.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.8 steals throughout the season. There were several landmark performances that helped Copeland in his quest for All-ACC glory as well.
⭐️ All-ACC Third Team ⭐️
— NC State Men's Basketball (@PackMensBball) March 9, 2026
Congrats, @unoducat! pic.twitter.com/OWy1WFjgYy
The guard's signature moment came on the road against Miller and SMU. Copeland was on the hunt, looking for any possible edge in a must-win game against the Mustangs. He ended up dishing out 16 assists. He finished the game with a highly untraditional double-double, as he tallied 10 rebounds to go with his assists. The cherry on top? He did it all without turning the ball over once.
NC State played at its very best with Copeland on the floor, directing traffic. The senior finished with the second-best plus/minus on the roster for the season, coming in with a plus-219. He trailed only sophomore sharpshooter Paul McNeil, a player who received the brunt of Copeland's assist work.
Copeland's 205 assists marked the 10th-most in NC State program history. No Wolfpack player reached that number of dimes since Chris Corchiani did so in the 1990-91 regular season. The work isn't done for the Wolfpack point guard yet, as he will try to get his team over the hump in the second round of the ACC Tournament on Wednesday.
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Tucker Sennett graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Sports Journalism from the esteemed Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. A former basketball player, he has gained valuable experience working at Cronkite News and brings a deep passion for sports and reporting to his role as the NC State Wolfpack Beat Writer On SI.
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