Basketball
Favorite athlete: My favorite athlete from any sport is Kyrie Irving, I've always been a big Kyrie Irving fan.
Favorite team: Cincinnati Bengals
Favorite memory competing in sports: My favorite memory of competing in sports would probably be hitting a buzzer beater against Pennridge in a Dock Summer League matchup.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: Most embarrassing moment has to be when I scored on the wrong basketball in a basketball game as a little kid.
Music on playlist: Aww man, I love the question, I have lots of R&B on my playlist, a lot of Alicia Keys, Ashanti, Faith Evans, I’m just a big RnB guy.
Future plans: Attend college and play basketball at the next level while always having fun in the process.
Words to live by: "How you gonna treat this life like you gonna get to live again." - Drake
One goal before turning 30: One goal before I turn 30 is to coach my own AAU team.
One thing people don't know about me: One thing people probably don't about me is that I don't own one pair of black socks.
By Mary Jane Souder
Basketball is more than just a sport to Clinton Kikonjo.
It's his undeniable passion, and it opened up a whole new world to the Souderton senior when he transferred from Northeast High School in Philadelphia to Souderton in the fall of 2022.
“I still remember – it was Oct. 14,” Kikonjo said. “I was sitting at lunch by myself, and Mr. Stanton, who’s always in the lunchroom, came up to me, and he introduced me to Chanse (Salone).”
Without fanfare and with one simple introduction, Dennis Stanton, Souderton’s athletic director, and Salone, then a freshman on the basketball team, completely changed the trajectory of Kikonjo’s entire high school experience.
“Chanse did a great job as a freshman being a leader and saying ‘Welcome to the school, I hear you play basketball’ and just making him feel comfortable,” Souderton coach Okoteh Sackitey said.
That lunchroom encounter not only marked the beginning of his career on the court with Souderton but also – although unbeknownst to him at the time - gave him a basketball ‘family’ that eased his transition into a new world.
“Souderton basketball made me have a lot of connections with new people,” Kikonjo said. “If I weren’t playing basketball, I’d probably still be the quiet kid sitting by himself at lunch not knowing anybody. That really jumpstarted my high school experience at Souderton.”
Granted, Kikonjo’s journey had its peaks and valleys, and it was one of those valleys that turned out to be a defining moment in Kikonjo’s basketball career.
“Clinton started out on the varsity, and we had a pretty tight rotation of seven guys, so he wasn’t getting a lot of playing time,” Sackitey said. “I just thought he needed to develop a little more to have significant, consistent, positive contributions on the court.
“I wanted him to play, I wanted him to get better, and I thought that would be best for him to get more minutes on the court that I couldn’t provide to him at the time on the varsity level, so in the middle of the season, 8-10 games in, I asked him if he would be willing to play JV as well.
“When we had tryouts and made cuts, he was varsity only, so that’s a tough situation, it’s a blow to the ego for anyone, especially for a high school kid asking him to play with the JV.”
Both Sackitey and Kikonjo remember that moment well.
“His response – I can picture it,” Sackitey said. “I remember where we were standing in the hallway, and I remember the look on his face.
“I just remember him not complaining about it in any way, shape or form, but I remember his face – it was tough for him to hear. It’s not what he wanted to hear at that moment, but he knew I had his best interests at heart. He knew I was asking him to do this because I believed it would make him a better basketball player. I thought it would be what’s best for his development in basketball.
“His face told me he knew that, his face told me he was disappointed, and it was tough. It also told me he was mature enough to handle it, and he was going to handle it in the best way that he could and that he was going to work hard on JV and be the best basketball player, teammate and person he could be. I knew he was going to do those things, and he knew too because that’s who he is.”
It was a difficult conversation for both coach and player.
“It’s not something you really want to hear after coming from a school where you played varsity basketball,” Kikonjo said. “It’s hard to explain. Transferring to another school – you have to build up your role like the other guys did.
“I understood where he was coming from as a coach. I’m glad he gave me that opportunity because if I was just to stay on varsity and not play any basketball – what is all this for? So, I’m glad he moved me down to JV for a bit because it really helped my confidence type of thing. Trying to find my confidence in a new school was hard, and that really helped a lot.”
Kikonjo’s stay on JV was brief.
“He started on jayvee and got a lot of minutes,” Sackitey said. “He played very well, and once I saw him playing so well, he started to earn varsity minutes.
“I saw him taking strides on the court with JV and I got more comfortable giving him minutes on varsity, and he got more comfortable playing on the floor with varsity.”
Fast forward to Kikonjo’s senior year when he was a fixture in the starting lineup and a key contributor.
“I’m really proud of how far he’s come from having that conversation with him his junior year and saying – I think the best thing for your growth is to go and play JV – and from that to starting every single game for us this year and doing the things that he did – I’m just so proud of him,” Sackitey said.
The journey
Kikonjo – the fourth of six children - grew up in Philadelphia. His first taste of organized sports came as a youngster playing peewee football.
“My oldest brother played football, and I just took after him, but I stopped in middle school,” Kikonjo said. “I was doing basketball at the same time, and I just grew out of football. I wasn’t the greatest football player, and basketball was a lot more fun to me.”
The move to Souderton the fall of his junior year was a major change, and he naturally had some misgivings.
“I had to move because my brother had just finished high school, and he planned to attend Moncto,” Kikonjo said. “Commuting from Philadelphia to Montco every day was going to be tough, so we moved to Souderton.
“At first, of course, I wanted to go home. I just missed all my friends back home. It was hard at first, it was really hard. My first thought moving was – am I going to be able to play high school basketball here because I didn’t know anybody or anything.”
That concern took care of itself in a hurry.
“My first day at Souderton – they were really welcoming, but it was hard,” Kikonjo said. “My first day there – I didn’t know anybody. Everybody thought I was so quiet. It just took some time.”
Kikonjo began working out with the basketball team.
“I met the guys who played varsity at the time, and they welcomed me,” he said. “The guys that graduated last year – I learned a lot from them. They definitely helped me.”
It didn’t take long for Kikonjo to form friendships on the team, but then came the move to JV. Some might not have taken kindly to the move and quit. For Kikonjo, that was never a consideration.
“I just couldn’t quit,” he said. “Playing basketball was my whole life. I just couldn’t give it up.
“I just had to find some way to make it work. I just felt I had to be selfish with the opportunity. I just couldn’t pout about the decision. I had to make do with what I was given.”
The results have been remarkable.
“He just took that momentum (from playing varsity) and had a great offseason,” Sackitey said. “It started in the spring. We did 6 a.m. lifting, and that’s how our offseason started, and he was there each time we had it. That’s a lot to ask from a high schooler, for sure. He was just dedicated. He rarely ever missed.
“He played well in the West Chester U spring league that we do, he played well in the summer league. He had a game-winning shot, a buzzer beater in our game against Pennridge. He just took that momentum into the fall and into the winter. I’m really proud of the senior year that he just had.”
Kikonjo averaged 7.5 points and was able to score from both inside and outside, but his contributions didn’t end there.
“He did a good job rebounding, defending bigs,” Sackitey said. “He led the team in charges taken. He did all the little things- he set good screens, he passed well. When we needed an extra ball handler, he did a great job handling the ball.
“He just was a total team player and had some of the biggest shots. His demeanor is so calm, cool and collected. The first time we played CB South we were down seven with three or four minutes left, and out of a timeout, we drew up a play that was for Chanse (Salone), but the way the defense was playing Chanse taking the shot wasn’t an option, so he passed it to Clinton, and he knocked down a three and cuts it to four. If Clinton doesn’t make that shot, we probably lose to CB South in game three or four of the season. Instead of being 2-1, we could have started out our season 1-2 after three games with a loss to a Colonial opponent. That shot was so big for the whole remaining 19 games of the season. That was a real big moment in our season.
“There were other games – he did a great job putting games on ice for us, knocking down free throws in late-game situations. He’s definitely had some real big moments for us and did a lot of good things.”
Souderton’s season - which ended just shy of earning a berth in the District 1 6A Tournament - came to a close with back-to-back wins in the regular season. Just days later, Kikonjo was already missing it.
“It was a great experience,” he said. “I’m glad that everything happened. You only get high school basketball once. I just wish I could do it again.
“It sucks that every day after school from now on – I don’t have practice. There’s no more Friday 7 o’clock games. I try to be thankful for every moment. I’m glad everything happened. I’m not sad that it’s gone. I’m trying to be happy that it happened.”
Moving on
Kikonjo is looking to follow in his brother’s footsteps and attend Montgomery County Community College where he plans to major in sports marketing to combine his love of sports with a career.
“I love being around sports whatever it is – watching, learning from sports, playing sports,” he said. “I can’t give up sports – I love it too much.”
He is hoping to continue his basketball career at the next level.
“I just want to build connections with the Montco basketball program,” Kikonjo said. “That’s what I’m looking forward to and working towards.”
Kikonjo will not soon forget those at Souderton who have influenced him along the way.
“Coach O - he mentored me not just in basketball but in life,” he said of Sackitey. “A lot of times when we were watching film, he gave a lot of life lessons. At the end of the day, we all love playing basketball, but he was a coach that wants us to become people bigger than basketball. I learned a lot from him.
“A big support was just the team in general because there were times in games when I’m not having the best game and I’m down on myself because I’m not having a good game. They would be right here to pick me up and say keep your head up. Besides the coach, the team has been a big help. I’m grateful for everybody. It was a family. I love every single one of the guys, I love my coaches.”
Kikonjo places a high value on his biological family, and Sundays during the NFL season include a lot of football, food and fun in the Kikonjo household.
Sackitey points to his response to playing JV midway through his junior year as a reflection on his upbringing.
“I’ve only had two interactions with his mom, but it was clear that his parents raised him to be somebody that can handle adversity and handle a situation like that and stay true to his character and continue to work hard,” the Indians’ coach said. “That was kind of a defining moment in our relationship in how he handled it so well. It was tough, but there was no complaining about it. It was just hard work as the response, and the hard work paid off because he had a season he’ll be proud about forever, and he had a season that I’ll be proud of for him forever.”
Kikonjo was not just a member of the Souderton basketball family but also his high school community.
“He was in my history class the first semester when he got here, and he’s a good student,” Sackitey said. “You can tell he’s a smart guy and deep thinker, and it was a pleasure to teach him in class, so I got to know him in that way when he got here.
“He also has friends outside of the basketball team. I see him in the hallway comfortable with people. I’m happy to see him happy, not just on the basketball court. I think you can have more than one home. I see Clinton in the hallway, and it looks like he has made this a home. It looks like he’s found what look like true friends, and I think he has made some true friends on this basketball team. It’s good to see. I’ve got a lot of love for him.”
As for Kikonjo’s ties with Souderton basketball, they won’t be ending any time soon.
“It won’t even seem like I’m gone,” he said. “I’ll be right there watching them this upcoming season.”
(Photos provided courtesy of Souderton boys' basketball)
