Give Chris Copeland a whip and fedora and you could call him the Knicks’ Indiana Jones. The rookie’s journey to basketball’s premier stage took him across Europe, an adventure that included stops on four different Euro teams, all in a quest to find his personal Holy Grail — a spot on an NBA roster.
It’s the law of supply and demand.
Every year, scores of players finish their college careers and look to make an NBA roster. But there simply aren’t enough spots in the league to accommodate every hopeful.
Copeland was one of the players who got caught in the numbers crunch. He was undrafted out of the University of Colorado, and couldn’t land on an NBA roster as a free agent.
After a year in the D-League, he made the move overseas to keep playing basketball, not knowing if his efforts would ever pay off. But despite the long odds, he never wavered from his quest, never gave up his search of his Holy Grail.
His perseverance paid off, and he’s now living his dream. But it didn’t come easy. It was an adventure only for the determined, and talented.
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Agent John Spencer realized Copeland’s determination to play in the NBA from the beginning.
“When I first visited his house, I saw that he had NBA stickers all over the walls in his bedroom,” spencer said. “He knew he wasn’t going to get a chance right out of college, but he was determined not to let a setback stop him.”
Copeland was disappointed with his initial failure to land in the NBA, but decided to try and make the best of a less-than-ideal situation.
“It was difficult, because it was always my dream. But it was a blessing to be able to go overseas, and I tried to do something with it,” he said.
His first stop was in Spain in 2007, where he played for CB L’Hospitalet in Catalonia, and the transition to living life overseas would prove to be far from seamless.
“The language barrier was the biggest issue — not being able to communicate with everybody in the community,” Copeland said. “[But] in certain places, I picked up the language. I have a solid base in Spanish, so I did OK in Spain.”
Copeland also had to adjust to the customs of the various countries he visited.
“The toughest custom was the siesta in Spain. We would have two-a-day practices, and after finishing morning practice, we couldn’t run errands because everything was closed,” Copeland said about the Spanish tradition in which businesses and restaurants close in the midday.
After just four games in Spain, Copeland decided to move on, signing on with Matrixx Magixx of Holland.
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THE Netherlands was where his skills first began to coalesce, as he averaged close to a double-double with 18.0 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.
However, Copeland had yet to fully adjust to life overseas. He continued to struggle with the language barrier, saying that in Germany, Holland and Belgium, he had to learn key phrases.
But despite the challenges, Copeland grew to appreciate life away from the United States, especially on a culinary level.
“I was scared to eat a lot of the stuff at first, but it ended up being the best stuff I’ve ever had. You have to embrace the culture. [Some of the foods] I tried were paella, Belgian fries and German schnitzel.”
While in Holland, he impressed Brad Dean, who had been scouting him and would go on to coach him when he played in Belgium.
“[By that time], he had developed a low-post game and was physically stronger,” Dean said. “His body started to fill out. At that point, I thought he could come play for us. Little did I know that by the time he got to us, he was ready to explode.”
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DEAN had to wait before Copeland made the move to Belgium, as following his season with Matrixx Magixx, Copeland moved to Germany and signed with TBB Trier, averaging 16.8 points and 4.6 rebounds in his second of two seasons with the club.
By that time, Copeland was fully immersed in overseas life, and found it easy to bond with his various teammates.
“For example, when I was in Germany, we had a nice clique, and we used to play games like Monopoly, Uno, dominoes, etc. We hung out a lot.”
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FOLLOWING his stint in Germany, Copeland made the move to Belgium, signing with Generali Okapi Aalstar. It took only one year for Dean to realize that he had a special talent who could be a team’s centerpiece.
“In his second year with us, he became our highest-paid player, and we wanted to highlight and build an offense around him. He took over the league on the offensive end,” Dean said.
Copeland scored 21.4 points per game, was named Player of the Year, and led his team to the Belgian championship in 2011-12. He considered winning the championship to be his favorite memory from his time overseas.
“Our city came out in celebration that night. It was an amazing feeling,” he said.
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AFTER that season, Copeland finally got the chance he had long been hoping for. He caught the eye of the Knicks’ Euro scout, Kevin Wilson — who had been tracking Copeland since he first landed overseas. The team essentially brought him in for a tryout, and he impressed in the summer league, averaging 13.8 points per game while shooting 47.3 percent from the field, and 41.7 percent from 3-point range.
In the preseason, Copeland showed flashes of his scoring capability, scoring 21 and 34 points against the Celtics in two separate games. As a result, he was rewarded with a spot on the Knicks’ roster.
Finally, at last, and a long journey filled with hurdles and pitfalls, Copeland was in the NBA.
“I wasn’t crying or going crazy, but I was pretty emotional,” he said. “It was a great feeling and a lifetime in the making. I’m just glad I could get [the chance].”
jdemarzo@nypost.com