Return to Breslin brings back flood of memories for South Christian’s David Kool
David Kool, left, poses with Drew Neitzel at the MHSAA boys basketball state semifinals at the Breslin Center on Friday, March 24, 2023. They were rivals in high school but friends off the court. Kool won the Mr. Basketball award in 2006 at South Christian and Neitzel won it in 2004 at Wyoming Park. (Photo | Lenny Padilla)
EAST LANSING, Mich. - When David Kool stepped onto the basketball court at The Breslin Center on Friday night, he felt like a teenager again.
“Walking on the court, it brought me back to to 2005 when we won the state championship beating Muskegon Heights,” he said of his Grand Rapids South Christian team. “I can remember it like it was yesterday. I got chills running down my back just thinking about it. You start remembering how special that was. I’m still friends with all those guys. The memories are special.”
Kool was at the Breslin Center on Friday and Saturday as the 2023 Sailors made it to the Division 2 state semifinals. They beat Romulus Summit Academy 40-35 in overtime to advance to the title game. But their season came to an end in the championship game as they lost 44-38 to Ferndale.
Most of the students at South Christian only know him as Mr. Kool, the school’s athletic director.
They may not know how great of a basketball career Kool had. He’s one of the best high school basketball players in the history of Michigan. He won state titles in 2003 and 2005 and won the Michigan Mr. Basketball Award in 2006. He would go on to play four years at Western Michigan University, where he is the school’s all-time leading scorer.
After his playing career, Kool would coach high school ball at Jenison and Holland Christian. But his dream job opened up at South Christian as the AD.
“It’s hard to imagine,” he said. “It was something you dream of doing, but it came true. The way life changes, I’m sure this was where God was taking me, I could see myself doing this. It’s literally a dream come true.”
David Kool poses with the 2006 Michigan Mr. Basketball Award. He won state titles at South Christian in 2003 and 2005. (Photo courtesy of Andris B. Visockis).
Kool played on Michigan State’s basketball court twice in his career in the state finals, including a 45-point game in 2005. So which one was more special?
“Both were great,” he said. “2005 was a little more special because of the role I had on the team. In 2003, I was a freshman and I was the sixth man coming off the bench. But when you have a bigger role, it makes it more special. The thing that also made the 2005 team special was doing it with my best friends.”
One of his friends was actually a rival. Wyoming Park’s Drew Neitzel and Kool were superstars at the same time in Grand Rapids. Neitzel would win Mr. Basketball in 2004. Now he does radio when he teams with Bret Bakita covering high school basketball in the area for 96.1-FM The Game.
“It’s awesome,” Kool said. “As a player, (Netizel) was so hard to guard and so much fun to play against. We had some good battles. He beat us and then we beat him. Now as friends and colleagues, it’s fun to see him on this side of it.”
Kool tries to shake off the rust and play pick-up basketball sometimes. He admits he’s nowhere near his college days, however. Has he tried to get Neitzel to play with him?
“He did not play in the South Christian men’s league this past winter,” Kool said with a laugh. “But I think we need to get him playing with us next year so we can keep up the rivalry.”
