There are many reasons why Indiana University’s men's basketball team has started the season 7-2, but one key factor is not something many would expect. Clif Marshall, director of athletic performance, believes Polar — a black training strap device that monitors players’ movements — is vital to IU’s training.
Polar allows coaches to track how fast each player can run in practice, how far they run, how many times they jump, how many calories they burn, what their heart rate is, and then combine this data with sports science and nutrition to customize each player’s individual intake. Players put on this strap with a monitor located beneath their chest and after the coaches click “start” on an iPad, they are able to track their movements in real time. Five-star sophomores Kel’el Ware and Malik Reneau, who both added 15 pounds of lean muscle mass this offseason, are big fans of this equipment.
“At the end of the practice it’ll give us a workload score, and that’ll tell us how hard the practice was on the athlete,” Marshall said. “Given that number, we can then tell players to get a massage, get in the ice tub, or make sure they are getting nutrition, adequate hydration and a good night sleep.”
Marshall is 5-foot-10 and muscular. He can usually be spotted around Cook Hall in lifting gear — a sweatshirt with sleeves cut off at the elbow paired with sweatpants and sneakers. The Kentucky native is easily recognizable by his accent or from his goatee, which is similar to his friend, colleague, and boss, head coach Mike Woodson. His Apple watch keeps his left wrist company every day while one black wrist band maintains the right.
But to Marshall, the biggest secret to IU’s strength and success is not because of wearable technology, but because of something much more old-fashioned: relationships.
Marshall is in his 22nd year coaching — year seven at IU. He has worked with over 400 professional athletes and been in each major professional sports industry throughout his career with the exception of the NHL. From Defensive Players of the Year, to All-Stars, to MVPs, Marshall has become an expert in how to help athletes become the best version of themselves. He knew this would be his career early on in life, but had no idea about the different paths that would lead him to where he is today. There are many reasons why Marshall has stayed at IU including the relationships he has developed over the years, the beauty of Bloomington, the amenities provided within Assembly Hall, the success of the basketball team, and of course, the fans.
“I value relationships more than I value results,” said Marshall. “What I mean by that is developing the trust, the love, personal connection with players I value more than how much they can bench press or do a vertical jump.”
Relationships go hand in hand with recruiting, an aspect of coaching Marshall loves. Between meeting the player, their family, and the player’s high school and AAU coaches, Marshall enjoys seeing each person as an individual. The connection Marshall developed with a young Indiana recruit, Trayce Jackson-Davis, is part of the reason TJD chose to become a Hoosier.
Marshall met Jackson-Davis when he was a sophomore in high school. Throughout the recruiting process, Marshall stayed in contact with TJD and his father, former NBA lottery pick Dale Davis. When Jackson-Davis eventually committed to IU, the bond he developed with Marshall strengthened even more.
“Since my freshman year coming into IU, he’s been working with me individually helping me with my strength, explosiveness, and that consistency that he does has really put me into position where I’m able to get some of these features — use my vertical jump to block shots, being strong in the post with the physicality of the Big Ten,” Jackson-Davis said in a 2023 IU basketball recruitment interview. “He’s a huge part of me being able to call myself a First Team All-American.”
At IU, Jackson-Davis was practicing five days a week, running about four miles and burning around 2,000 calories during each practice.
“The biggest thing I’d say about the conditioning is that it’s not easy and it’s not for everyone,” Jackson-Davis said in the interview. “I don’t mean that to scare anyone or anybody trying to come here but it's grueling. You got your teammates right next to you, by your side, and you get to work.”
TJD went on to become IU’s all-time leader in blocks and rebounds and believes he could not accomplish this feat without his personal connection with Marshall.
“To build that relationship over four years has been incredible,” Marshall said. “We still talk about two to three times a week. He just called me last week with some questions as he’s out in Golden State now for his rookie season.”
Jackson-Davis was selected 57th in the 2023 NBA draft by the Golden State Warriors. This summer, he signed his first contract worth just above $7.6 million over four years.
In the NBA, practices are shorter and more “half court,” therefore he is burning less calories and not getting up and down the floor as much as he’d like. As a pro, Jackson-Davis has taken it upon himself to get extra cardio on his own after practices and games. Along with this, TJD has cut back on his daily calorie intake, as he is not burning as much as he was while playing at IU.
“He played 38 out of 40 minutes in a Big Ten game, so we’re just trying to make adjustments with his nutrition and with his extra cardio so when his number is called this year, he will be ready,” Marshall said.
Jackson-Davis may have new orders in Golden State, but he’s got old friends in Bloomington for help.
Marshall graduated high school in 1999 and already knew his passion. Recalling a VHS tape from his high school football senior night, Marshall remembers each player being instructed to share their career plans with their parents as they walked across midfield.
“I told them at 18 years old my future plans were to get a degree in physical education and health and be a strength and conditioning coach,” Marshall said.
Falling in love with lifting weights at a young age, Marshall was confident this would become his career. More than his determination, however, he believes the key to his coaching success are the relationships he has formed and maintained. Prioritizing relationships, he has noticed, causes players to gravitate towards him more readily. For him, relationships are valued in terms of building culture.
“Rules without relationship equals rebellion,” Marshall said. “My biggest thing is to develop relationships first and the results will follow.”
Marshall never planned on being in the college basketball atmosphere. He started in college football as a strength assistant for the Louisville Cardinals in 2001 before moving on to the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2005. After these experiences, he started his own program in 2007 — Ignition — a private-sector business where he and his staff would train athletes from all the different major sports. Over the course of a decade, Marshall worked with over 400 professional athletes.
“I never thought I’d leave that job, I thought I had the best job in the world,” Marshall said. “But again, college basketball came calling.”
In 2013 the Xavier Musketeers basketball program asked Marshall if he would train their players for speed and agility, as well as incorporate boxing drills. The Dayton Flyers called shortly after with the same request. In 2017, after Archie Miller’s hiring, IU’s new head coach sent a text to Marshall inviting him to come work for the Hoosiers and leave Ignition. After two weeks of praying, fasting and speaking with his mentors and wife, Stacey, he made the decision to leave Ignition.
Four years later, in the spring of 2021, Marshall received a call informing him that Miller was going to be fired. As a member of Miller’s staff, Marshall knew his job and life in Bloomington were in serious jeopardy.
Marshall had just landed in Fort Lauderdale ready to start spring break with Stacey and his two children when he received the call. Not wanting to ruin vacation for the kids, Marshall kept the phone call private. After arriving at the hotel, Marshall’s family quickly changed into their swimsuits and headed down to the beach. Marshall was preoccupied with news of Miller’s firing when his daughter ran up to him with a seashell with four words inscribed in black sharpie: “Look up and trust.”
In a moment when Marshall was unsure of his future and wondered how he was going to provide for his family, he believed this shell was a message from God Himself.
Back in Indiana, Woodson was hired as head coach. Marshall tried reaching out to Woodson with no luck. He was then advised to communicate the old fashioned way, so he wrote a handwritten letter, which read, “Coach Woodson I want to be an Indiana Hoosier and I want to be your strength coach.”
Woodson walked into the weight room a few days later where Marshall was training a group of six players. As Marshall wrote up that day’s workout on the grease board, he noticed Woodson watching, so he huddled his group close together.
“Fellas, I need you to be great today,” Marshall said. “I feel like this is my interview, so I need you all to bring a lot of energy.”
Following the workout, Woodson brought Marshall up to his office where he told him he would like to continue working with him as his strength and conditioning coach.
“There’s a plan for all of us in our life and we just have to trust that,” Marshall said.
Marshall is more of a motivator than a screamer. Through encouragement, passion, lots of clapping and maintaining a trust with his players, he is able to bring energy to anyone at any time and adapt to their needs.
Marshall’s office is accessed by walking through the men’s and women’s basketball weight room in Assembly Hall. Dumbbells from five pounds up to 115 line the full-length mirror. One corner has both a pull-down and leg extension machine while the opposite corner has a row machine. Listed above the row is the “20 reps club,” names of players who were able to get 20 bench reps of 185 pounds, the official weight for the NBA combine. Freddie McSwain Jr. sits on top with 30.
In the middle of the room is a massive machine all connected as one, that includes multiple bench/squat racks, pull-up bars, free weights and other attachments for hundreds of potential workouts. Two walls parallel from each other show the “all-time weight room records”, one board for the men and one for the women. The women’s records include one rep bench max, 95-pound bench max, one-rep squat max, chin-up max, one-mile time, standing vertical, broad jump and one-minute versa sprint. Records are shown for guards and post players separately. The men’s records show standing vertical, max vertical, ¾-court sprint, lane agility, VO2 max, 185 pound bench max, one-rep bench max, deadlift, peak power squat and pull-ups.
Inside Marshall’s office, he has a white board with daily and long-term goals, bible verses, reminders, and workout regimes written for his players. He works at his desk with a framed family photo right beside him. Behind him is a poster that reads “A good coach can change a game. A great coach can change a life.”
Covering each wall are hundreds of signed photos from all the professional athletes he has trained throughout his career, thanking him for helping them reach their goals. From Jackson-Davis and Jalen Hood-Schifino to Luke Kuechly, Chad Ochocinco and Jason Kelce, Marshall has impacted countless lives behind the scenes and is the reason why many people’s favorite players are their favorite player.
Most of Marshall’s passion comes from within, but part of it he credits to the Hoosier faithful.
“You see the facilities, and then you look up and see five national championship banners, I consider Indiana a blue blood,” Marshall said.
In order to change your body composition, whether that is trying to lose or gain weight, Marshall informs the general population as well as his athletes that 70% of that work comes from nutrition. He regularly reminds his players “you can’t out-train a bad diet” and “abs are made in the kitchen.”
Working closely with Isaac Hicks III, director of performance nutrition, and his staff, they are able to go above and beyond strength training, working with athletes to fulfill the needs that will maximize their potential.
The Hoosiers have 15 players on their roster, from freshmen like Gabe Cupps and Mackenzie Mgbako, to sixth-year seniors such as Xavier Johnson. Each player has different requirements, depending on their body composition and needs.
“I’m only training 15 guys, so it’s not a cookie-cutter approach that I take with our athletes,” Marshall said. “I train every athlete, but I don’t train every athlete the same.”
Marshall explained that he would not tell someone like Ware, who is 7-foot, to squat 500 pounds because that is a long way to move a lot of weight, compared to a guard who is 6-foot-2 like Cupps.
“At the end of the day the results still have to be there,” Marshall said. “You have to find a way to make each and every athlete bigger, faster, stronger every off-season.”
Hood-Schifino spent just one year at IU before being selected 17th overall in the 2023 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers. Still only 20 years old, Marshall has been a significant factor in Hood-Schifino’s growth throughout his young career.
“From the first day I met Coach Clif and we got in the weight room, I felt the transformation in my body,” Hood-Schifino said in another 2023 IU basketball recruitment interview. “He’s really helped me and that’s a key part to why I’m able to play at a high level.”
Hood-Schifino does not eat red meat, pork or chicken, but says Marshall has done a tremendous job ensuring he has the right meals he needs in order to be ready to play. Anytime Hood-Schifino or any other player needs anything, such as a massage, an ice bath or another form of recovery, they know they can count on Marshall to help.
“Outside of the weight room I think the conditioning is probably the reason why I’m able to play the way I play now and why I don’t really get tired,” Hood-Schifino said in the interview. “Waking up at six in the morning, going on a run, and conditioning with the team has definitely helped me. It’s tough, but if you have the mentality that you’re going to win every sprint and you’re going to take it seriously then when the season comes and you’re playing in these tough games it’s going to help you.”
Hood-Schifino is thankful he has Marshall to lean on outside of basketball.
“The first week me and Coach Clif hit it off — he was taking me and the freshmen to church, going fishing, and other activities,” Hood-Schifino said in the interview. “Having him as an outlet outside of a strength coach has been big and it’s helped me the whole year.”
In June and July, the offseason, athletes lift four days a week. Marshall believes it is during this time when the players make the greatest strides and biggest gains. The coaches have an eight-hour window to work with players on a daily basis. Athletes will spend an hour each morning in the weight room with Marshall, then go to class or lunch, and then finish the day with Woodson and his staff on the court.
The offseason program leads to the preseason program. Here, lifts are cut from four days to three days a week and are no longer than 45 minutes. This is also paired with on court practice.
During the regular season, everyone lifts at least two days a week, with lower-minute players usually lifting three to four days. The biggest difference between football and basketball is the schedule, according to Marshall, because with football they play once on the weekends so it’s easy to follow a set schedule, whereas with basketball the schedule is hectic with two to three games a week.
For every team, the ultimate goal looking forward is to win championships.
“You have to win, you have to sustain winning, and you have to always find a way to get better each and every offseason and that’s my plan right now,” Marshall said.
As long as the Hoosiers continue to improve and succeed, there is no desire to leave.
“I would love to raise my family here in Bloomington,” Marshall said. “We love the relationships we’ve built here.”
