Wagner College head men’s basketball coach Bashir Mason has announced on Friday afternoon the promotion of Donald Copeland to assistant coach.
Copeland, a former All-Big East guard at Seton Hall University before embarking on a professional playing career overseas, has spent the last two seasons as the Seahawks’ graduate manager.
“Donald has done an excellent job since joining our program,” said Mason. “As a coach, I am fortunate to have a guy like Donald (Copeland) with the wealth of knowledge and experience he has brought to the program already. His ability to develop guys, in particular, our guards, has helped us flourish into one of the top defensive and highest scoring teams in the conference. I can’t wait to see how he develops into his new role which will include assisting our efforts on the recruiting trail.
In each of the last two seasons, Copeland played an integral role on the Seahawk staff, helping Wagner advance to the semifinals of the 2016-17 Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament. In his first season at Wagner, he was part of a staff that guided Wagner to the 2015-16 NEC Tournament Championship game and a berth in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT), which was highlighted by the program’s first-ever postseason victory, an impressive 79-75 win at top-seeded St. Bonaventure of the Atlantic 10 Conference.
“I am grateful for the opportunity that has been given to me by Coach Mason,” commented Copeland. “In my two years here, I have learned a great deal from a tremendous staff and am excited to take on more responsibilities and eager to make a bigger contribution to the program in this new role.”
The Jersey City, NJ native, who starred at St. Anthony High School under legendary head coach Bob Hurley, Sr., arrived on Grymes Hill prior to the start of the 2015-16 campaign after enjoying a near decade-long professional career that spanned seven countries. His professional stops included:
Donald Copeland Professional International Career
Bosnia and Herzegovina
- KK Bosna | Bosnian BiH Liga
- Paris Basket Racing | French LNB Pro A
- JL Bourg-en-Bresse | French LNB Pro B
- Eisbaeren Bremerhaven | Basketball Bundesliga
- Zalakeramia-ZTE KK| Hungarian NBIA
- Polpharma Basketball | Polish Basketball League (PLK)
- Starogard, & PGE Turow | PLK Eurocup, Zgorcelec)
- Gigantes | Puerto Rican BSN
- Atleticos de San German| Puerto Rican BSN
- Vaqueros de Bayamon | Puerto Rican BSN
- Capitanes de Arecibo | Liga Americas
- Quebradillas Piratas | Puerto Rican BSN
- Leones de Ponce | Puerto Rican BSN
- BC Kyiv | Super League; Eurochallenge
Before embarking on his professional career, Copeland was a standout guard at Seton Hall. While a member of the Pirates, the Garden State product helped lead the Seton Hall to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances in his sophomore (2004) and senior (2006) seasons.
In helping lead the Pirates to an 18-12 record and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament as a senior in 2005-06, Copeland led the Hall in a host of statistical categories, including scoring (16.1 ppg), assists (4.5), steals (41), three-pointers (71) and free throw percentage (84.4). For the season, he ranked third in the Big East in assists per game (5.1) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.69).
After being named to both the All-BIG EAST and All-Metropolitan Second Teams, Copeland was tabbed as Seton Hall’s Senior Male Athlete of the Year, prior to earning his bachelor’s degree in Communications and Media Studies.
