Colorado University Athletics
Former Buff Chris Copeland, Finally an NBA Rookie
Chris Copeland of the New York Knicks is not your typical NBA rookie.
With five years of professional basketball experience he is already ahead of most players who are entering the pro ranks for the first time in their career. But if the grind of the NBA season doesn't remind him that he is a rookie, then his teammates sure do.
"My teammates remind me I'm a rookie every day with my pink backpack and all the rookie duties that I have to do," Copeland said. "That is the fun part, and embarrassing part I guess."
Having to wear the pink backpack to and from games and most practices is something that Copeland is okay doing since it is a rite of passage of sorts, even if he is a 28-year old doing it instead of a 19 or 20-year old kid.
Copeland's journey to the NBA isn't your typical player story. While more and more players are leaving college early to play professionally in the United States, Copeland was a four-year letterwinner at the University of Colorado (2002-06) and helped lead the Buffaloes to a pair of NIT appearances (2003-04, 2005-06) and to the NCAA Tournament during the 2002-03 campaign as a freshman.
"Making the tournament my first year had to be my favorite [memory]," Copeland said. "Not everyone has the opportunity to say that they played in the tournament or postseason play for that matter."
After his senior season in Boulder, the Richmond, Va., native signed with the Fort Worth Flyers of the NBA Development League (D-League), but he soon moved his attention to Europe where he played five full seasons on teams in Spain, the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium.
Copeland said the hardest part about playing in Europe wasn't the competition level but just being away from family and friends.
"Competition, it's just basketball so it's always going to be tough, but to be all the way overseas, to be far away from your comfort zone, I think that was the most challenging thing than any competition," Copeland said.
He would often spend nine or 10 months away from the United State and while he did have family and friends visit him (his mother visited him everywhere he played), it was tough for him to keep relationships back home.
"In Germany I had a coach get on me about sleeping habits," Copeland said. "You're overseas and you want to stay in touch with people back at home in different time zones so that might keep you up late at night. You have to make sacrifices in certain areas if you want to perform.
"This is your job and if you want to play at a high level you are going to have to make sacrifices and maybe not speak to as many people as you would want. A lot about being a professional is making sacrifices, and I had to learn that. In each job, I learned something new in that regard."
Copeland's chance to return in the U.S. came after spending the 2011-12 season with Generali Okapi Aalstar of Basketball League Belgium. The Knicks took notice of Copeland - who led the Belgian team in minutes (33.0) and shooting percentage (57.2) and led the entire league in points per game with 21.5 - and invited him to their summer league contests in Las Vegas. He also won the Belgian league's Player of the Year honors and was named to the Eurobasket.com All-Belgian League first-team.
He continued to perform well during the Knicks' summer league and was invited to the team's training camp where he and eventually landed the final spot on New York's 15-man roster.
There is no doubt that Copeland experienced highs and lows throughout the entire process over the summer, but he said he was able to get through it and stay mentally level thanks to some encouragement from the people that are close to him. And they haven't stopped now that he's made an NBA roster
"I have a pretty strong circle of people that help me on a daily basis - my mom, my girl, my friends - they keep my mind right," Copeland said. "I think that is a big thing for me. If my mind is ever wandering or if I'm doubting myself, they kind of snap me back into shape and I think that was very key to me besides just myself, trying to stay focused and making sacrifices in certain areas."
When the regular season did come, Copeland didn't have to wait long to finally see the court. With New York having a comfortable lead, 102-79, over the Miami Heat in the Knicks' season opener on Nov. 2 at Madison Square Garden, Copeland entered the game with 1:58 remaining in regulation.
"I'm official," Copeland said of that moment. "No matter what happens the rest of my career, I can say I've had my name on an official NBA roster and I've touched an NBA floor."
The Colorado alum said he wasn't nervous before and during the game and that he made sure to remember the details of the day.
"That first game, I was kind of just soaking everything up, being in the arena, the fans, just staring at my jersey, just the little things," Copeland said. "I was really just soaking it up, 'Wow, I'm really here.'"
In a Dec. 17 game against the Houston Rockets and with some of the regular New York players out of the lineup, Copeland had his chance to show what he could do and scored 29 points and picked up five rebounds in 28 minutes of work.
"I got in the zone I guess. I saw lanes and my teammates have been telling me since the beginning of the year any time I see an opportunity, attack, play your game," Copeland said of the game. "For that game, I just tried to keep attacking. Every game I step out, I try and attack as much as possible and that game I had an extended period of time to keep doing it. It just worked out that night."
Copeland said the NBA life has been an adjustment and "fast paced," but he has been doing his best to take the veteran approach, staying mentally focused in his profession. That includes choosing to live outside the distractions of New York City and closer to the team's practice facility in Greenburgh, N.Y., (nearly 20 miles north of the city).
That professional attitude is one of the biggest things he learned while playing in Europe.
"You are not a kid anymore, you have to figure out how to be professional every day, do your job," Copeland said. "There was an adjustment period for me, especially in my first year in that respect. I think those years, I played in the D-League, played overseas, I had to learn a lot in that area. It's a big mental thing and I think that was really important for me for the situation that I am in now."
The University of Colorado is still a place special to Copeland, and knowing how important a college degree is, he returned to Boulder nearly three years after playing his last game at the Coors Events Center to finish up his bachelor's degree. He took two courses in a class setting and one more online to earn his Psychology degree in the summer of 2009.
He is also no stranger to Denver or Colorado as he's returned to the Rocky Mountains every summer since college to do altitude training, see college friends and enjoy the scenery.
This past summer Copeland was in Boulder for a little bit checking out the 2012-13 Buffs in preparation for their European trip in August. And while coach Tad Boyle invited CU alums to come back and workout with this year's squad, Copeland just observed but came away impressed.
"I came out just to check out the up-and-coming guys and meet them and shake hands and watch them go," Copeland said.
"Great kids, really nice guys. A lot of talent. I'm not surprised at what they are doing. A really good group and I'm excited to see CU doing so well and recruiting so well."
Since joining the Knicks, the support that he has received from people on social media and in public has at times been "overwhelming," but he appreciates all the love because they know what he went through to get to this moment.
While Copeland is currently used as a role-player coming off the bench, he is still thankful to the Knicks organization and everyone else who has helped him over the years.
"It wasn't smooth by any means," Copeland said. "It makes it that much more rewarding of what I went through to finally get here because I can appreciate the struggle."