Georgetown basketball’s Isaac Copeland to transfer

Isaac Copeland is leaving the Hoyas. (Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

Junior forward Isaac Copeland is transferring from Georgetown, men’s basketball Coach John Thompson III announced Monday via a statement issued by the school.

The 6-foot-9 Copeland had been a starter for much of the first two seasons of his career and was voted to the Big East all-freshman team. This season, however, injuries, diminished performance and an influx of new players conspired to limit Copeland’s playing time.

He did not play in Georgetown’s most recent game, a 93-78 win against La Salle on Saturday, and logged only five minutes in the previous game when the Hoyas held on to defeat Elon, 77-74, on Dec. 4 at Verizon Center.

Copeland’s season high in minutes this season was 37 against Maryland, a 76-75 loss, on Nov, 15. He missed 11 of 14 shots but did contribute 13 rebounds. In the next two games, Copeland shot a combined 4 for 16 with seven rebounds, playing 32 and 24 minutes, respectively.

The arrival of graduate transfer Rodney Pryor in addition to elevated minutes this season for reserves Marcus Derrickson and Kaleb Johnson left Thompson less room in the rotation for Copeland, who is averaging 5.4 points and 3.3 rebounds in 19.6 minutes.

Last season, Copeland averaged 32 minutes, the second most on the Hoyas, as well as 11.1 points and 5.4 rebounds. Pryor leads Georgetown in scoring this season (20.6 points per game) and is second in minutes behind guard L.J. Peak.

Copeland is the second significant contributor from the freshman class in 2014-15 to leave Georgetown. In August, the school announced 6-8 forward Paul White was transferring but, as in the case with Copeland, did not provide a reason for his decision. White has since joined the University of Oregon.

After a rocky beginning to the season, Georgetown (6-4) has won four in a row for its longest winning streak. The Hoyas next play at Syracuse on Saturday in a renewal of their rivalry from the old Big East Conference.