He was an all-state guard at St. Dominic High School in nearby Oyster Bay while playing under Ralph Willard, who later was the head coach at Western Kentucky, Pittsburgh, and Holy Cross.

Christian played his final two campaigns under Tom Penders at the University of Rhode Island, where he helped the Rams reach the Sweet Sixteen of the 1988 NCAA tournament.

The former standout guard guided the Rams to victories over Missouri and Syracuse before dropping a 73–72 decision to Duke in the Sweet 16 round.

After earning his bachelor's degree in consumer affairs from the University of Rhode Island in 1988, Christian spent one season playing professionally in the Australian Basketball Association for the Sydney City Comets.

After assisting former head coach Stan Heath in the 2001–02 season, Christian became head coach at Kent State University from 2002 to 2008, where he led the Golden Flashes to six consecutive seasons of twenty or more wins, four MAC East division titles, two overall MAC titles, and two conference tournament championships.

In Christian's final year coaching the Horned Frogs, he helped the program break a seven-year losing streak and gave them a bid in the College Basketball Invitational Tournament.

[6] On April 3, 2014, Christian resigned his position at Ohio to become the head coach at Boston College, replacing Steve Donahue.