Fans Cheer Copeland To The Rafters

The Age

Thursday December 20, 2007

Stephen Howell

LANARD Copeland stood centre court with his arm around his great mate Andrew Gaze at the Cage last night as the Melbourne Tigers raised his singlet to the rafters to signal the retirement of his No. 21.

After acknowledging the support of a crowd that cheered him on for 448 games in Tiger red and yellow, Copeland got on with his job, playing for Adelaide against Melbourne in his 519th National Basketball League game.

Copeland, 42, will retire at season's end after two years with the 36ers that followed a year with Brisbane after the Tigers called time at the end of the Gaze era in 2005. In 14 seasons with the Tigers, mostly as Gaze's backcourt partner, Copeland won two championships (1993 and 1997), was runner-up twice (1992 and 1996) and was most valuable player in the 1997 grand final.

He averaged 22 points a game after debuting on April 3, 1992, against Canberra in the first NBL game played at Melbourne Park. Fans took notice, especially in the last quarter when he had 24 points - still the fourth-term record - to lead the Tigers to a win while Gaze was on a stint in Greece.