Nebraska Basketball: Isaac Copeland commits to Cornhuskers

Former Georgetown forward Isaac Copeland has committed to Tim Miles and Nebraska basketball.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers are a surprising 3-1 in Big Ten play after wins over Indiana, Maryland and Iowa and a loss to Northwestern. The good news continues as Tim Miles is bringing in a nice piece for the 2017-18 season.

On Monday afternoon, former Georgetown Hoya Isaac Copeland committed to the Cornhuskers over a plethora of other high major schools that were chasing his services.

Georgetown transfer Isaac Copeland has committed to Nebraska, source told ESPN.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) January 9, 2017

This is a good get for the Cornhuskers. Why? The 6’9″ forward is a former five-star recruit. He was ranked 16th in ESPN’s top 100 in the class of 2014 and was the second best recruit in the state of North Carolina.

During his freshman season, Copeland looked like he was a keeper for the Hoyas. He averaged a promising 6.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, while shooting 45 percent from the field and 39 percent from three point range. While his three point shooting percentage dipped in his sophomore campaign, he still averaged 11.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.

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Maybe Nebraska can push the right buttons in order to get Copeland to reach his full potential.

Copeland has already applied for a hardship waiver because of his upcoming back surgery. If the NCAA does indeed accept, the forward will have two full years of eligibility remaining and will be eligible at the beginning of next season (2017-18). If the NCAA does not accept, Copeland will only be eligible for the second semester of the 2017-18 season and one full year after that.

The connection between Copeland and the Nebraska program lies with assistant coach Kenya Hunter, who recruited the forward to the Hoyas when he was in D.C.

Nebraska is a member of a Power 5 conference (the Big Ten), but a talent of Copeland’s nature doesn’t enter the program on a regular occurrence. When healthy and clicking on all cylinders (which hasn’t been the normal the last couple of years), Copeland can stretch the floor and score the basketball from the four-position.

He’s not a great defender and doesn’t have the size and strength to dominate bigger fours or fives, but he’s a match-up nightmare.

Nebraska only has one senior (Tai Webster), so their front court could consist of Copeland, Jeriah Horne, Jack McVeigh, Michael Jacobson, Isaiah Roby, Ed Morrow and Jordy Tshimanga. That’s not a bad group, but again, Copeland will give them a different dimension because of his talent level.

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It’s no guarantee that the former Hoya will be reenergized and suddenly turn into the player he was during his freshman and sophomore seasons. However, at least Nebraska has the chance to try to get the best out of the forward.

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