Was flicking through some mid-major games the other day and noticed a "Zach Copeland" in the game for the ISU Redbirds. Did a little digging and sure enough, it's the same Zach who led Berkeley High to a nor cal title in '15 and put up video game numbers at CCSF for two years after that, leading them to a CCCAA state title in '15 and a 29-3 season in '16 (garnering numerous individual accolades along the way).
Looks like he had to redshirt last year at ISU but so far this season he's been a mainstay in the rotation, starting in 14 of their 16 completed games. ISU is currently 9-8 on the year, with a couple big early wins against BYU and Boise St., some tough losses against the likes of Georgia, San Diego St., Loyola-Chicago and Ole Miss, and has since started Missouri Valley Conference play at 2-2. Copeland is averaging nearly 29 minutes as a starter and has so far posted an average of 10.5 PPG with an FG% of 38.6. Defensively he is consistently good for 1 or two steals so far.
While that's not too shabby for your first 15 D1 games, his recent game against Valparaiso indicates that when he is in the zone he truly has another level he can go to as far as scoring. In that 2 point loss he was incredibly efficient, scoring 21 points in just 26 minutes of play, shooting 8-12 overall and 5-8 from beyond the arc.
His 3 point shooting is what he relied on at CCSF, and it seems to be his go-to so far at the D1 level, which means that his offensive game goes through wild swings. On January 2nd he posted the stats above, but just a week later he wasn't so hot beyond the arc going just 2-6 from the 3, and posted only 8 points (but two steals and a team win, so hey...).
Looks like he had to redshirt last year at ISU but so far this season he's been a mainstay in the rotation, starting in 14 of their 16 completed games. ISU is currently 9-8 on the year, with a couple big early wins against BYU and Boise St., some tough losses against the likes of Georgia, San Diego St., Loyola-Chicago and Ole Miss, and has since started Missouri Valley Conference play at 2-2. Copeland is averaging nearly 29 minutes as a starter and has so far posted an average of 10.5 PPG with an FG% of 38.6. Defensively he is consistently good for 1 or two steals so far.
While that's not too shabby for your first 15 D1 games, his recent game against Valparaiso indicates that when he is in the zone he truly has another level he can go to as far as scoring. In that 2 point loss he was incredibly efficient, scoring 21 points in just 26 minutes of play, shooting 8-12 overall and 5-8 from beyond the arc.
His 3 point shooting is what he relied on at CCSF, and it seems to be his go-to so far at the D1 level, which means that his offensive game goes through wild swings. On January 2nd he posted the stats above, but just a week later he wasn't so hot beyond the arc going just 2-6 from the 3, and posted only 8 points (but two steals and a team win, so hey...).
