Christian Kirkland got his confidence back at Friends Select and with it came a Division I basketball scholarship

Christian Kirkland remembers when playing basketball at the next level became his goal. The moment came after his freshman year at Friends Select, one that he had spent as a starter for the Falcons. Kirkland played against all sorts of Division I talent that season, gaining valuable in-game experience against players from the likes of Westtown and George School.

It was after those matchups that Kirkland knew that he wanted to take his game to that level.

“[That season] was pretty eye-opening because I’ve never seen the level of skill and just overall confidence from guys at that age,” Kirkland said. “It kind of made me want that.”

Kirkland, who will play in the Philadelphia All-American game Sunday at Neumann University, is now headed to a Division I school after having signed with Youngstown State last month.

Back when Kirkland transferred to Roman Catholic for his sophomore year, the first thing that stood out to him was the size of the crowds at every game. What also stood out was the level of competition in practices. Every day, Kirkland practiced against the likes of Jalen Duren, Justice Williams, and Xzayvier Brown.

“I got way better defensively,” Kirkland said. “I really guarded some of the best players in the nation at practice every day. … Having to guard Justice and Jalen in the post, it just got my game better.”

Although his year at Roman was a valuable learning experience, Kirkland decided to transfer back to Friends Select ahead of his junior year. It was there, training with Falcons coach Percell Coles, that Kirkland felt as if he could get his game where he wanted it.

When Kirkland arrived back at Friends Select, Coles noticed some of the developments in the 6-foot-7 forward’s game. Kirkland had spent his freshman season playing mostly on the perimeter, lacking the physicality to play with his back to the basket or in the post. A year at Roman had helped Kirkland both add weight to his frame and diversify his game. But Coles also noticed something missing.

“He seemed like he lost confidence, like he didn’t know exactly what position he filled,” Coles said. “He didn’t know whether he wanted to play the wing or play down low. … Him going over to Roman, it kind of gave him a reality check of how hard he really had to work to get to where he needed to be.”

Coles knew that part of rebuilding Kirkland’s on-court confidence was helping him feel comfortable making mistakes. At Roman, making a mistake on the court might have resulted in being taken out of the game. At Friends Select, however, Kirkland had a different role on the team, and Coles counted on Kirkland to be a primary playmaker.

“I gave him that freedom where he can fail and still stay on the court [and] be able to play through his mistakes,” Coles said. “I think that was key for Christian. Once he was able to see that and feel that I had that confidence in him, he started to take off.”

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Coles also wanted to get Kirkland to lean into his own playmaking abilities. Before each game, Coles would give Kirkland a scoring number that he wanted the forward to target. Kirkland was an unselfish player by nature, always looking to make the correct basketball play. Coles wanted Kirkland to see that, sometimes, finishing the play yourself can be the right play.

“It kind of changed my view because, if you want to be that guy, you have to do certain things that make you that guy,” Kirkland said. “He just really told me keep playing your game, but at moments you have to know when it’s your time to shine.”

Kirkland’s growth during his junior season prepared him to take full advantage of the summer live periods. In Friends Select’s second game in June, however, Kirkland suffered a fractured foot. Being sidelined during such an important time for recruiting was tough for Kirkland, but he tried to focus on what he could control.

That summer, Kirkland and Coles worked on Kirkland’s jump shot. Even though he had limited mobility, Kirkland took 1,000 shots per day, focusing purely on his form. As he started to heal, his form noticeably improved, and Kirkland emerged from the offseason with greater confidence in his outside shot.

The injury also helped motivate Kirkland to make the most of his senior year at Friends Select. Kirkland averaged 15 points and 13 rebounds per game, earning first-team All-Friends Schools League honors in the process.

“Coach Percell always took him up under his wing,” said Kirkland’s father, Rod. “I give a lot of praise to Coach Percell because these coaches have families, and he spent a lot of his time with the one-on-one practices and workouts to help develop him [and] to help him get to the level where he’s at now.”

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In February, Kirkland committed to Youngstown State. Key in that decision was finding an environment similar to the one that helped him grow at Friends Select.

“It’s like a whole family atmosphere up there, and the guys up there seem very close with each other,” Kirkland said. “Definitely a similarity [to Friends Select] because my school’s not that big as well, and Youngstown’s not that big of a school either. So, it’s just like the close-knit community, and everybody knows each other.”