Quadir Copeland left Las Vegas with his best work still ringing loudest.
The former NC State point guard delivered a team-high 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting Saturday night, but the Houston Rockets still fell 101-90 to the Memphis Grizzlies in the NBA Summer League semifinal. It was the final game of a five-game run for Copeland, and he made sure the finish matched the rise.
Houston was chasing almost immediately after Memphis ripped off a 24-9 first-quarter lead and never gave it back. Even with the game tilted early, Copeland kept going at the defense, finishing with 24 points, three assists, two rebounds and two steals. No. 3 overall pick Cameron Boozer answered for Memphis with 12 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, helping push the Grizzlies into the championship game.
The semifinal capped a summer that steadily got better for Copeland. Across the five games, he averaged 13.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.2 steals and only 2.0 turnovers. That production lines up closely with what he gave NC State last season as the Wolfpack’s starting point guard, when he posted 13.9 points and 6.5 assists.
The efficiency was the part that really stood out. Copeland shot 22-of-39 from the field, good for 56.4%, and knocked down 6-of-11 from deep, a 54.5% clip.
He also kept bringing the edge on defense. Houston built its Summer League identity around ball pressure, forcing turnovers at a high rate all week, and Copeland was a big part of that with his length and active hands. He worked the passing lanes alongside Bruce Thornton and Tristen Newton.
Copeland went undrafted in June before signing a two-way contract with the Rockets, a deal that links him to the G League’s Rio Grande Valley Vipers. Now the goal is simple: keep producing in camp and in the G League and force his way into a standard contract in Houston.
If this week was any indication, that climb suddenly looks a lot more realistic.
In Other News...
Virginia Just Resolved A Major Week 1 Question For NC State
Virginia has taken one of the bigger unknowns off the board for NC States 2026 opener, and it comes with a familiar kind of ACC headache. The Cavaliers will bring in a quarterback with real starting experience and the kind of dual-threat profile that can stress a defense in more ways than one, giving the Wolfpack an early test before conference play even settles in.
For NC State, the matchup now has a clearer shape: a seasoned transfer under center, a mobile playmaker who has already logged meaningful snaps in two major programs, and a defense that will have to be ready from the first series. The rest of Virginias offense still has to come together, but the quarterback spot is no longer a mystery, and that alone changes how the Wolfpack can spend the next few months preparing. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville Is Taking Another Swing At The ACC Before NC State Sees Them
Louisville is spending another offseason trying to turn roster churn into a real ACC push, and Jeff Brohm has leaned into the transfer portal again as he rebuilds the offense around a new quarterback. The Cardinals still have plenty of pieces that make them dangerous, from Heisman hopeful Isaac Brown in the backfield to receiver Tre Richardson and a defense anchored by pass-rush threat Clev Lubin, which is why the internal expectation around the program is already set fairly high for the fall.
The problem for anyone lining up against Louisville, including NC State, is that the schedule does not leave much time for a warmup. The Cardinals are being talked about as a nine-win team before the season even starts, and the early stretch includes a road trip to Raleigh plus a key matchup with SMU that could end up shaping the whole year. If Brohm has found another quarterback answer, the rest of the league may be dealing with a team that looks a lot more settled than it did a few months ago. [Read more 🡒]