Donald Copeland, Wagner Men's Basketball Head Coach

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Follow Inside the Green Room on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, coach, thank you for taking the time to hop on. Congratulations.

Thank you so much. I appreciate you guys having me. Absolutely. Now, we saw you guys, you were controlling the majority of the game. We saw that 14 to 2 run. What happened? What changed at your team? Did they fall asleep? Did they get too comfortable?

What happened? No, I think, you know, Howard, you know, did some things to make plays. You know, that's a good team. I was telling my team the whole time, that's a championship level team.

They're not going to go away. They were able to get some baskets early in transition with some of our breakdowns. And then, you know, we had some uncharacteristic turnovers, you know, because that's one thing we really do well is take care of the ball. And we just had some bad turnovers and some bad moments. But, you know, I thought we finished the game the right way. You know, making free throws, executing, getting the ball inbounds and then defending the last possession. Well, you talk about getting buckets and great plays. We saw a Melvin Council junior in your squad put up 21 points. There's going to be a lot more eyes on you, your team, the squad, especially as you guys move on to North Carolina.

What is the country going to find out about Melvin Council junior as well as the rest of the squad? No, he's a ball player, man. He's an older man. He loves to play. He loves to compete.

He lives at this type of stage, these moments. He's the same kid every day, too, man. That's what's so special about him. Because I'm really, I'm hard on him.

Probably the hardest guy I coach. And he never wavers, you know. That's why things are able to work out for him. So they're going to see a guy compete on both ends of the floor, man. That's what he brings.

That's what he does all the time. Head coach of Wagner, Donald Copeland, is joining us. The JR Sportbree Show on CBS Sports Radio just knocked off Howard to head on into the field of 64. Well, Coach, you've been all over the world, balling out. You're from the tri-state area in New York City growing up and coming out of New Jersey. What are some of the lessons that you've learned all around the world that you have brought back to Staten Island? You know what? I play for some really good coaches, especially overseas.

Just different ways of doing it. I've been fortunate enough to play for some really good coaches. So the one thing is investing in people. That's the biggest thing, I think. When you invest in the character of a person, you can achieve great things. There's a lot of people you come across who may have some talent or things they can do for you, but they don't do it for the right reasons or think the right way.

You always get left wanting more, so I think the first thing you've got to do is try to find the character of a person because then they'll always give you everything they have. Well, Coach, we know that you are now in the field of 64. There's been a lot of conversation, not just in the tri-state area, but around the whole country about who did not get in. And a lot of those teams you're familiar with, they're in the backyard, whether it happens to be a Seton Hall or a St. Johns. Do you feel that Wagner has gotten the attention that they deserve, especially in a tri-state?

Again, no, I would hope so. Especially what the kids went through this year. Uncorrect, characteristic, how things have gone for us with seven players. To get this recognition, I think they deserve that. And it's not just the seven players, it's also the six guys that's injured. Just being a part of everything that we do and still turning into coaches to help along the seven guys. So I'm thankful, I'm proud that these guys do get this type of recognition, especially being in our area with big-time programs like Seton Hall, St. Johns, and Rutgers.

So it's been good for them. Head Coach Donald Copeland from Wagner is joining us. Just knocked off Howard. Now, next up for you guys, you got Thursday. You don't got to wait too long, but it's North Carolina. What is the next 48 hours going to look like as you move forward and get the team prepared?

Continuing to learn as we go here. We got a flight tonight that we got to catch. We're going to have to figure out a good schedule that gets these guys rest and as prepared as they can. Because we also have a quick turnaround with an early game.

And it couldn't be against a tougher opponent. You know, North Carolina, Blue Blood program, you definitely want to be as prepared as you can to face those guys, especially in their own state. Well, you think about the program in whole. This is the first, this is its first tournament victory for Wagner. The organization, the school hasn't been here in about two decades plus. What does this mean for the university?

Yeah. No, it means a lot, man. It really means a lot, you know, to make the tournament for the first time in 21 years.

It's the first, you know, the first tournament win. You know, who would have thought this, you know, and I'm just glad that we're doing it right now because I think these schools deserve it because they do a lot of things for the right reasons. So I couldn't be more proud for the school, the program and the kids that I'm coaching. Well, coach, I'm gonna let you get the last word here to keep you on out and running.

I know you're real, real busy. Give a shout out, show some love to all the supporters out there. They're listening. No, thank you guys so much, man. This is impossible without you guys.

And you know what? You guys, the guys, the people that have been supporting us back at school in the area, they've been supporting us even before all of this has happened, man. And, you know, they're a part of this as well for us. Well, Donald, thank you so much for joining. Good luck against North Carolina. Go get them, coach. Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate this. Apply.