University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Copeland Catches Up
November 2, 2006 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 2, 2006
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By Adam Lucas
On a 2005-06 Carolina team that seemed overjoyed at the prospect of being able to play basketball together, no one appeared more delighted to be a Tar Heel than Mike Copeland.
Playing time was scarce, as he played just 46 minutes the entire season. But when he did get into the game, he played with a recklessness that was infectious. He grabbed a rebound every 2.7 minutes of playing time, easily the leading figure on the team, and attempted a shot every 3.3 minutes of game action, which also ranked among the team leaders. Especially early in the season, he might not have always been in the right place, but he always seemed intent on constant effort.
The same was true even when he wasn't in the game. Spot him in the seconds before tip-off of another game at the Smith Center and he was usually bobbing his head to the music while displaying an enormous smile.
It's no surprise, then, that part of his offseason was spent reflecting on his wonderment at the opportunity to be a Carolina basketball player.
"My dad and I talked about it every day," Copeland says about the time he spent at home in Winston-Salem. "I couldn't believe that I had finished my first year playing for Carolina. It went so fast.
"I noticed when I went home that people looked at me differently. I was working out every day, and when I saw friends they talked to me differently. They wanted to talk about seeing me on TV. That's a big change."
Don't get the wrong idea. Copeland isn't content to simply show up at the Smith Center, collect his free Carolina Basketball sweatshirt, and enjoy one of the best seats in the arena for games. One of the latest additions to a Carolina recruiting class in memory, Copeland's official place on last year's team wasn't confirmed until mid-August. That meant he missed the all-important session of summer school most freshmen enjoy, which serves as a bridge to college both academically and athletically.
Once he arrived on campus and was introduced to college-level conditioning, he suffered an ill-timed knee injury that left him scrambling to maintain the fitness level Roy Williams demands.
"I finally started catching up to everybody at the end of the season," Copeland says. "I fell behind because of the injury. Then, once I really started feeling like I was even with everyone else, our season was over. I wasn't ready for it to be over. I felt like I was just starting."
He tried to carry over that enthusiasm to his summer workouts. He entered Carolina at a less-than-sculpted 233 pounds. This year he's listed at a more defined 225, and his conditioning is significantly better than it was last season. Ask Carolina players which teammates have shown the most improvement since last season, and you almost always hear two names: Danny Green and Copeland.
"There were three things I really wanted to work on this summer: conditioning, rebounding, and defense," Copeland says. "Working harder in the weight room has helped all three of those things."
In fact, he spent so much time in the weight room that he's ceded his team-best what's-up abilities to Wes Miller.
"I can still get about 20 of them in about five seconds," he says. "But Wes is better."
If he's disappointed, he doesn't show it. Because he caps the comment with exactly what everyone has grown to expect from him: a wide grin.
Adam Lucas's third book on Carolina basketball, The Best Game Ever, chronicles the 1957 national championship season and is available now. His previous books include Going Home Again, focusing on Roy Williams's return to Carolina, and Led By Their Dreams, a collaboration with Steve Kirschner and Matt Bowers on the 2005 championship team.
