Georgetown transfer Copeland to visit NU, decision soon to follow

As soon as news broke that junior forward Isaac Copeland would be transferring from Georgetown at the end of the 2016 fall semester, it didn’t take long for Nebraska to move front and center on his list of potential options.

Two weeks later, the Huskers have already locked in plans for an official visit from the former five-star prospect out of Raleigh, N.C., who ranked No. 23 overall in the 2014 class.

The 6-foot-9, 220-pound Copeland told HuskerOnline.com that while he will arrive in Lincoln Thursday for his official visit to Nebraska.

A big reason why NU was able to immediately join the mix was Copeland’s connection with assistant coach Kenya Hunter, who was Copeland’s lead recruiter at Georgetown when he was coming out of Brewster (N.H.) Academy.

“I was going to check them out regardless, but me and Coach Hunter have a great relationship,” Copeland said. “We always have since I was in high school, so as soon as he heard I was transferring he was the first to call.”

That’s not the only connection working in the Huskers’ favor. It turns out that Copeland is also childhood friends with NU junior guard Anton Gill.

“My friend Anton plays there,” Copeland said. “Before his injury he was having some success and was coming along. He just told me he liked (Nebraska), and once he heard I was transferring he obviously said we should become teammates again.

“We grew up together, so we know each really well and have a great relationship. (Playing together in college) has always been an idea.”

Copeland was a starter for the Hoyas for much of his first two seasons, including earning Big East All-Freshman Team honors in 2014-15. He ranked second on the team in minutes played (32.0 per game) as a freshman while averaging 11.1 points and 5.4 rebounds.

However, injuries diminished Copeland’s production noticeably this season. He had been averaging 5.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and 19.6 minutes to start the year, but a herniated disc in his back forced him to cut his season short.

Copeland said he’s waiting to schedule surgery on his back until after he decides on a new school, and he will have surgery there in order to get on a good rehabilitation regiment as quickly as possible.

He expects to be out for about six weeks after surgery before he gets back to full health.

The interesting aspect which remains to be seen is if Copeland is awarded a medical hardship waiver for this season, which would give him two years of eligibility at his next school.

He has already applied for the waiver and feels good about his chances of getting one since he played in less than 10 games this season.

As of right now he would be eligible to play starting January 2018.

Copeland said he’s cut his list of potential schools down to Kansas, Arizona State, North Carolina State, Texas and Nebraska.

He said right now he plans to visit every school on that list, and just took in N.C. State's home game on Wednesday night.

Things will be moving quickly, as Copeland wants to take all of those visits and have his decision made within the next two weeks, possibly as early as the end of next week.

Nebraska may not have quite the level of pedigree as some of the other programs on his list, but given the Huskers close connections and their reputation for maximizing Division I transfers, it made total sense for Copeland to check them out.

“Yeah, that plays a big part in my decision,” Copeland said of NU’s track record with transfers. “Coach Hunter really stressed that, and it’s important for me to go somewhere that has dealt with someone like me and has had success.”