Quadir Copeland's mindset is straightforward on the court.

“I haven’t been given a lot in life, so I just try to take everything, just try to be a competitor and just always know I have to compete at everything,” he said.

Copeland knows his role on the Syracuse team, even if playing time has been sparing so far this season.

“Who doesn’t want to play? But like I said, I understand and keep trying to understand the process and what it is and understand that, at the end of the day, it’s bigger than me," Copeland said. "I tell those guys, call them my brother every day, dap them up in practice every day, tell them I love them every day. It’d be selfish of me to get into my feelings and not be there for them.”

It’s an attitude that was born and bred in his hometown of Philadelphia, a city with a rich sports history.

Growing up, Quadir didn’t see himself as a basketball player, at least at first.

“Growing up, my dad was a boxer, so I wanted to be like him," Copeland said. "I wanted to box at first. Philly is a tough place and when I was doing it, I wanted to learn how to defend myself. Not saying I have to, I just wanted to learn how to defend myself, and my dad was a good boxer. He won a lot of stuff and I just wanted to follow in his footsteps.”

But just months after he started boxing, his dreams shifted to the hardwood, with all the credit going to his older brother, Daiquan.

“Next thing I know, I watched my brother play basketball, and that’s what I wanted to do. I want to be like my big brother," Copeland said. "That was my idol. I just followed along with it and next thing I know, I grew to 6’5'', 6’4-ish in my 10th, 11th grade year and thought this is what I should stick with.”

Daiquan, a junior at Morgan State, paved the way for his younger sibling to achieve his dreams.

“The real reason I’m here is because he went through all the mistakes with my dad," Copeland said. "They went through all the mistakes because my dad didn’t really understand basketball fully, starting off with my brother. So he went through all that and went though all the ropes and everything, so when the process came with me to go down the path, so when it came to me, he saw certain things and knew what I could do, knew the right connections and built the right connections with my brother, so it only helped me in the future.”

But Quadir and Daquan’s relationship is more than just about basketball. They come from the City of Brotherly Love, a motto that's embraced every time they connect.

“He doesn’t like to call just about sports," Copeland said. "We like to keep it regular life talk at the end of the day. There’s life after basketball. There’s life before basketball and there’s life during basketball, so you have to take time for the people you love instead of just focusing it so much on the sport. That’s what a lot of people mess up with.”

As much as their relationship defines who they are, their competitive nature always shines when they battle each other.

“One on one, I definitely give it to him," Copeland said. "I definitely give it to big bro. He got it. He’s always been a creative player and he’s a big brother, so he tries to put all the fear in my heart and all that stuff. But one on one, he’s got it. We haven’t played in a minute. We haven’t played since I’ve been in college and stuff like that. We haven’t played in a couple of years. I’m only as good as my last game, and he’s definitely got it.”