Devin Coleman of FCS Is Ready For Next Step To Clemson

Second in a series of profiles spotlighting Friends Central School hoops stars.

Devin Coleman couldn’t have been more relaxed a few days before making one of those life-changing trips. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound graduating point guard was about to embark on his next journey, hopping on a plane to South Carolina around the July 4th holiday.

If there were any traces of anxiety or fear, they were certainly nowhere to be found on Coleman. He actually didn’t need a plane to reach Clemson University, where the next stage of his career will take place on a basketball scholarship. He could have run there.

Coleman felt prepared, but above all else, confident, that this next step into the deep, terribly challenging world of Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) basketball was suited perfectly for him. It’s been something he’s been honing and grinding his whole life to achieve.

“It will be a big change,” said Coleman, a four-year starter for the Phoenix, who, along with , led them to two straight Friends Schools League championships and three straight Pennsylvania Independent School state titles.

“I’m ready for this, though. I’m prepared for it, because Friends Central provided me with the strong academics and I feel I can grow and adapt to the kind of basketball I’ll see in the ACC.

“I really can’t wait. I’m not nervous at all, to be honest,” Coleman said. “I’m really looking forward to this new beginning of the next four years of my life. I do want to graduate. I know I’m going there to play basketball, but I’m going there because basketball has provided me with a great education.”

Hearing this, Kenneth Coleman, Devin’s father, beamed—but mainly due to his son's next sentence: “I know there’s going to be a time when the basketball will stop bouncing.”

Family...

Kenneth was a Philadelphia playground legend who’s gone on to a successful career as a maintenance mechanic. But Kenneth wasn’t going to have that for his son Devin.

No, Devin wasn’t going to be known as that guy who used to tear it up on the local courts—he was going use his talent and take advantage of all the quality things his parents instilled in him.

“Devin’s a good kid, a good kid,” emphasized Kenneth, all decked out in Clemson orange. “That started with how he was raised by me and Devin’s mother. One way or another Devin was going to college. He had no choice in the matter; he was going to get an education. He just happened to be blessed with great basketball talent.”

But it’s not all basketball with Devin, his dad said. He’s also been blessed with a great family foundation.

“I’m very proud of him, very proud of him. We’re going to meet some friends I work with. They wanted to meet Devin before he left. I’m a father who’s proud to say, ‘This is my son.’”

...and Friends

Friends Central coach Jason Polykoff has no doubts Devin will succeed. Coleman has a great work ethic and he’s added a staunch defensive mindset to his game, Polykoff said—which could spell a lot of minutes his freshman year at Clemson.

“I always knew Devin was Clemson-ready,” Polykoff said. “He’s always had the overall ability, but in recent years, he’s developed a great defensive mindset. He could always make everyone around him better on offense, but he needed to step up his defensive skills, and he has. He was our best defensive stopper the last two years, guarding everyone from 6-foot-8 to 5-foot-6. It didn’t matter. Devin stopped them.”

Kenneth Coleman plans on buying the ACC cable TV package and not missing a single Clemson game. He also plans on making the trip to Iowa for the Tigers’ opener in the ACC-Big 10 Challenge on Tuesday, November 29.

“I’m on a new mission now,” Devin said. “I have great memories of Friends Central and all the teammates I played with, and the great teachers I had here, and I’ll probably miss my little sister the most. She’s my best friend.

“My memories are important, but I’m trying to leave all the accolades behind. I’m starting new again, as a freshman from the bottom. I can’t wait.”