CHARLOTTE, N.C. — There is no rhyme or reason to fate.
Destiny doesn’t work according to schedule.
Depending on your spiritual beliefs, fate is either chance or destiny.
In the case of this week’s NCAA Tournament opener at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center, fate wrapped a jewel in a gift, bringing the soul of Jersey City basketball to North Carolina, home to the sport’s blue-blooded elite.
St. Peter’s and Wagner are two of the eight teams playing here Thursday. Wagner, the No. 16 seed in the West Region, will play No. 1 seed North Carolina at 2:45 p.m., while St. Peter’s, the No. 15 seed in the Midwest, will play.No. 2 seed Tennessee 9:20 p.m.
St. Peter’s is coached by Bashir Mason, a Jersey City native who played and coached under Danny Hurley, the coach at UW, the No. 1 team in the country.
Mason coached at Wagner for 10 years, and was replaced two years ago by childhood friend Donald Copeland Jr. Donald Copeland Jr. played for Danny’s father, Bob Hurley Sr., at St. Anthony’s and also starred at Seton Hall.
Oh, and Bashir and Mason were both born on February 11, 1984.
Both played youth at the Jersey City Boys and Girls Club under Copeland’s father, Donald Copeland Sr.
And now, unbelievably, they’re both coaching teams in the NCAA Tournament on the same day and in the same region.
Things like this cannot be compensated for.
“The closeness and connection of it all and how it’s happening gives us chills and goosebumps,” Mason told the Post on Wednesday. “Even as I was parked here today, Wagner came out and I could see Donald and his whole team. I was a kid working at Wagner there. I was 27 I was 40 years old now. That’s where I grew up coaching. It’s surreal.
“I want to win games, but my connection to both programs is bigger than just basketball.”
An amazing twist of fate.
“You can’t picture it any better,” Copeland told the Post. “Bash and I started out together with my dad, who was a coach at the Jersey City Boys and Girls Club. Our journey started with basketball and our relationship was built from there. . It’s special to be in this moment. We share it with each other.”
Copeland’s Wagner team defeated Howard in a First Four game Tuesday night to advance to Charlotte. After the win, Copeland’s first phone call was from Mason.
“After we won the conference tournament, I called him from the locker room and said, ‘If you thought you were going to make it to the NCAA Tournament without me, you were crazy,'” Mason said. “And last night, when we talked, he said, ‘If you thought you were going to go to Charlotte without me, you’re crazy.’
Copeland recalled with a laugh that Mason showed up at his house with the MAAC trophy the other day after St. Peter’s defeated Fairfield in the title game.
“We just returned from Atlantic City. [site of the MAAC tourney] And he and I were talking on the phone and I asked him where he was and while we were talking, I’m leaving campus and he lives 5 minutes from campus. “I’m here,” Mason said. “I got to his house and called him and said, ‘Come outside.’ When he came out, I rolled down the window, put on my seatbelt and put the trophy in the passenger seat. Ta.”
Perhaps the only thing the two can’t resolve is who is older. Copeland claims he is older and was born on the morning of February 11, 1984, but Mason provides evidence to the contrary.
“I’m older,” Mason said. “He won’t submit his birth certificate. I showed him mine. I was born at 8:12 a.m., I was born before him. He told you He doesn’t give me time because he knows I’m older than him. He’s the younger brother. This has been going on for years.”
For Donald Copeland Sr., this lively exchange is especially moving. Because he has a close relationship with them.
“They were always in the gym. They were gym rats,” Copeland Sr. said by phone. “After the game, we went back to the boys club and they ended up sneaking into the gym to play, so I had to kick them out and say, ‘It’s time to go home.’ We just got back from a game so we have to lock up. ” ”
Copeland Sr. will not be in Charlotte this week. He said he was too nervous to watch his son’s games.
“It’s too nerve-wracking for me,” he said. “I can’t watch the game. I watch the movie, check the score every 30 minutes, and then go back to the movie.”
This entire week feels like a movie between these two programs.
Fate does things like that sometimes. When you least expect it.
