Daniel Shapiro just completed his 5th year as Head Strength & Conditioning for the LA Clippers. Shapiro joins the Clippers after spending the last 4 seasons at the University of Washington where he was Director of Basketball Athletic Performance for the Men’s Basketball team. During his time with UW he was responsible for designing and implementing all facets of the team’s athletic performance programs including strength, conditioning, recovery, nutrition and individual player performance tracking/monitoring. While working closely with the athletic training staff, sports nutritionists and doctors, he also assists with player rehabilitation programs in efforts to returning players back to peak performance on the basketball court.

No stranger to the NBA, Shapiro served as the Head Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Sacramento Kings from 2005-2013.

Prior to working with the Kings, Shapiro spent two seasons at the University of Dayton as the head strength and conditioning coach for the men’s and women’s basketball teams.

His previous work experience includes a seven-year stint with the Seattle Supersonics (1996-2003) as the assistant strength and conditioning coach under Dwight Daub. During his stay with the Sonics, Shapiro doubled his duties with the organization and worked as the head strength and conditioning coach for the Seattle Storm of the WNBA (2000-03).

Shapiro is co-founder of the NBSCA (National Basketball Strength and Conditioning Association), established in 2008 and served as its inaugural president from 2009 to 2011. In May 2010, Shapiro was awarded the NBSCA Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year. Along with his NBA team responsibilities, Shapiro also continues to oversee all operations of the athletic performance testing at the annual NBA Pre-Draft Combine since 2010.

A native of Renton, Washington, Shapiro earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise science (2000) and master’s degree in physical education (2005), both from Seattle Pacific University. He has his CSCS (Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist) from the National Strength and Conditioning Association and is a Certified Performance Enhancement Specialist from the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM). Most recently, Shapiro completed the GIFT program (Gray Institute of Functional Transformation) and earned the certification of Fellow of Applied Functional Science (FAFS).

Shapiro enjoys working out, playing basketball and ran and completed his first marathon in the summer of 2009 in Seattle. When he isn’t working, traveling or getting a sweat he loves spending time with his friends and family, watching movies and getting out on the water as much as he can. He and his wife, Sina, reside in Los Angeles with their daughter Eliana (born in September 2016).

Dr. Adam Petway, who has over 12 years of experience in strength training and sports performance at the NBA and collegiate levels, has joined the University of Louisville men’s basketball staff as Director of Strength & Conditioning.

Petway most recently served as the Horizontal Jumps Coach/Assistant Track & Field Coach at West Chester (Pa.) University since January. There his coaching emphasis was on horizontals, as well as working with Golden Rams athletes in strength and conditioning programs, rehabilitation and biomechanical assessment and analysis for sprints, jumps and hurdles.

He was the Director of Athletic Performance for the NBA Washington Wizards for the 2020-21 season, where he directed all aspects of player performance for the team. In his role with the Wizards, he led the kinetic assessments of each athlete, collaborated with medical staff on player rehab, and designed and implemented training programs for all athletes.

Prior to Washington, Petway served as the Lead Biomechanist for Strength & Conditioning for the NBA Philadelphia 76ers after a year as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist with the team. There he assessed and contributed to the general physical preparation for each athlete among other responsibilities for the NBA team.

Petway served as the Director of Strength and Conditioning coach for the University of Arkansas basketball program for over four years (2014-18) after a year as an assistant with the program. While at Arkansas, he oversaw all aspects of the Arkansas men’s basketball strength and conditioning program, including its unique performance training for the Razorbacks’ up-tempo style and the team’s nutritional guidelines. He began his career with strength and conditioning roles at The Catholic University of America, The George Washington University, and the University of Maryland before working with Arkansas basketball.

Petway earned his bachelor’s degree in sports science from the United State Sports Academy in 2013. He completed a Master of Business Administration with an emphasis in sport management at the Universidad Europea de Madrid in 2017 and a doctorate in sports science from Universidad Catolica de Murcia in 2021. Petway also studied applied data science through MIT professional education.

A Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the NSCA, Petway has taught classes at the collegiate level. His thesis research was focused on neuromuscular profiling and match-play demands in elite basketball populations and has been the corresponding author on several peer-reviewed publications related to these topics. Petway published the book Basketball Mechanics, which examines the physical attributes of the top performing basketball athletes in the game.

A native of Atlanta, Ga., Petway and his wife Colleen have two children: Emilia and Harrison.

Luka is an enthusiastic physical performance specialist, S&C coach, international author and lecturer. He earned his Master of Kinesiology degree from the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of Zagreb, having won multiple awards for exceptional study achievements. During his master studies, Luka also studied as an exchange student at Jan Komensky University’s School of Physical Education and Sports in Slovakia as well as at the School of Medicine at Lund University in Sweden. He did his first full-season internship as a S&C coach in the basketball club of Zagreb. After graduation, Luka was accepted for a lecturing position at the University of Zagreb.

Coach Svilar has worked with athletes of different sports and levels, mainly in tennis, soccer and volleyball although his primary focus has always been on basketball. After his internship, he worked with youth and senior teams in Croatia and won a gold medal with the U18 team at the Eurobasket Championship in 2012. Luka also spent one season in Turkey acting as a strength and conditioning coach at Türk Telekom Basketball. In 2016, he moved to Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain to work with Baskonia, one of Europe’s most iconic basketball teams.
While an active coach at Baskonia, Luka took the next step in his academic education by successfully defending his PhD project called Load monitoring and management in elite basketball at the University of the Basque Country in Vitoria-Gasteiz 2018. As a recognition of his academic achievements, Luka received the annual FIEP Vladimir Findak Award (fr the academic year 2017/18) for young researchers for his notable achievements in science.

Besides coaching, field-related writing is another passion of Luka. He has published several papers related to sports training, physical performance, injury prevention and load monitoring and he has also co-authored the book Functional movement preparation for basketball.
Luka’s professional goal is to help players achieve and maintain their peak physical performance as well share his knowledge with other enthusiasts in the field.

Jure Drakslar graduated as a Strength and Conditioning Coach at University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. Currently he is working as a S&C coach and rehabilitation specialist at UNICS Kazan.

Prior to UNICS, he held the same position at Khimki Moscow region. Jure started his professional career 18 years ago at BC Slovan where he was 5 years responsible for athletic development of one of the best European prospects, among which were Goran Dragić, Zoran Dragić, Jan Vesely and others. Before going abroad Jure was working 3 seasons as S&C coach at BC Union Olimpija youth teams. In the meanwhile, he was hired to establish S&C system and educate local S&C coaches at BC Spars Sarajevo and BC USK Praha. Before joining BC Khimki in 2018, he was 3 seasons S&C coach at the top Polish basketball team BC Zielona Gora, which was at that time playing Euroleague and Eurocup and later FIBA Champions League.

Jure is personal off-season S&C coach of many top-level basketball players, including one of the world’s best basketball player, Luka Doncić. In his 17-year career as a pro S&C coach he has worked with various Slovenian National Teams (1 season senior Basketball NT, 4 seasons U20 Basketball NT, 4 seasons Swimming NT, 1 season Rowing NT).

Besides performance training and rehabilitation, Jure has a great passion in continuous education and passing his knowledge and experience to others who are willing to learn.

Juan Trapero is currently the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at the Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid, a position that he has held for a total of eighteen years. Juan, a Madrid native, has a wealth of experience in training elite basketball players and working with teams that compete at the highest level. Over the years Coach Trapero has worked with some of European’s basketball greatest players, like Sergio Lull, Rudy Fernandez, Sergio Rodriguez and to name a few. He has also held similar positions in the professional basketball clubs of Zaragoza (two seasons) and Fuenlabrada (5 seasons) that competed in ACB, Spain’s top basketball league.

Playing a key role in the success of these teams, Trapero has an impressive collection of trophies having won two Euroleague titles, five ACB League titles, five ACB Cups, five ACB Supercups and one Intercontinental Cup.

Juan Trapero was himself an elite athlete and a member of the Spanish Track and Field National Team (his events were 60m-100m-4×100) and has successfully participated in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics (100m and 4x 100m), as well as several European and World Track and Field Championships between 1991 and 1995.

Juan holds a bachelor’s degree in Science of Physical Activity and Sports from INEF Madrid and a Master’s Degree in Sport Training and Nutrition from the European University of Madrid. He is a member of the Spanish Strength & Conditioning Coaches Association and a sought-after speaker in educational events.

Jairo Vázquez is currently the strength and conditioning coach for the Barcelona Basketball Professional Team, being in charge of player physical performance and load monitoring. He is a member of the Department of Sport Performance at FC Barcelona and has also worked as the strength and conditioning coach for different Spanish National Basketball teams (U13, U16, U18 and U22).

Jairo holds a degree in Physical Activity and Sport Sciences from the Physical Education National Institute in Barcelona, Spain and is a PhD holder with his thesis titled “Adaptations of strength training in different instability conditions”. He also obtained a Professional Master in High Performance in Team Sports (Barça Innovation Hub, Inefc and Byomedic System) leaded by Paco Seirul.lo. Finally, Jairo is a Scholarship recipient from the Sports Council of Spain for The ALTITUDE Project in swimming.

Coach Vasquez is a frequent speaker at local, as well as international educational events covering topics in sport performance, fitness and health. He has also authored scientific articles about basketball monitoring loads and resistance training with rotational inertial devices.

Regev “Reggie” Fanan is the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach of the legendary Maccabi Tel Aviv Basketball Club since 2015. Before he was named head strength coach, he was an assistant at Tel Aviv for three years and part of the team that won the 2014 Euroleague trophy. Apart from Maccabi, Reggie has worked as head strength and conditioning at the Israeli Women National Team and personally trains elite basketball and soccer players that seek to maximize their athletic potential.

Fanan is a graduate of Zinman school for coaches and the Wingate Institute with a specialization of strength and conditioning for basketball and soccer. He also attended the Tel Aviv University School for Coaches studying weight training. Reggie’s extensive experience in basketball includes him being a professional basketball player for eight years, again in his beloved Maccabi, when he has won three Euroleague titles.

Todd Wright is the Vice President of Player Performance and Assistant Coach for the Los Angeles Clippers, a position he’s held for the past three seasons. Wright works closely with the Medical Department, Player Development Department and Coaching Staff to coordinate and integrate all areas of player performance.

Before he joined the Clippers, Wright spent four seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers as an Assistant Coach and Head of Strength and Conditioning. One of the first hybrid coaches in the NBA, Wright helped 76ers stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons return to the court from serious injuries.

Prior to the NBA, Wright spent 21 seasons in college basketball, reaching the NCAA Tournament in 19 of them. At Texas, he coached two National Players of the Year (Kevin Durant, T.J. Ford), six lottery picks and 11 first-round draft choices.

A native of Peabody, Mass., Wright earned his Bachelor of Science degree in health and fitness from Springfield College. He is a member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association, a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, and a Fellow of Applied Functional Science through the Gray Institute. He also founded Train 4 The Game, a leading Sports Performance and Physical Restoration Facility in Austin.

Since 2006, Wright has spoken about Functional Performance and Rehabilitation, including the training model known as the Vertical Core — Functional Upright Core Training. His mentorship and intern program has helped produced coaches at five NBA teams and a dozen major colleges.

Wright and his wife, Kate, live in Manhattan Beach, Calif., with their three children: Hannah, Abigail and Chance.

Caterina Todeschini is currently strength and conditioning coach of Famila Basket Schio, where she came in 2016. The FBS is an Italian female team participating in Women Euroleague. She joined Italian Female National Youth Teams in 2008, and now she is a S&C coach of Italian Female Senior Team. Caterina is a board member of APFIP (Associazione Preparatori Fisici Italiani Pallacanestro), and national teacher for Italian Basketball Federation for S&C coaches. She holds a master degree in Sport Science and a Degree in Psychological Sciences.

Ozan Sirikci is the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach of Anadolu Efes, one of the top teams in Turkish Airlines Euroleague, a position he holds since 2013. He is responsible for player evaluation, injury management and of course, strength and conditioning program design.

Coach Sirikci has extensive experience in working with elite basketball teams since he has held similar positions in Fenerbahce , TrabzonSpor and Ulker – Alpella. During 2009 – 2013 season he was the head strength and conditioning specialist for the both Men’s and Women’s Turkish Basketball National Teams. In 2012 he participated with the later in the London Olympics. Ozan also had the opportunity to work with many competitive athletes of different levels and abilities helping them improve their physical performance and/or recover from injury.

A graduate of Osmangazi University – Medical Faculty with a specialization in General Human Physiology and Exercise Physiology, Coach Sirikci also holds a degree in Physical Education and Sport Science from Anadolu University. His love for learning and personal development has led him around the world where he studied human performance in diverse environments like EXOS ( former Athlete’s Performance) , Functional Movement Systems and Cybex International. He also holds certifications in track and field coaching, basketball and pedagogy.

Ozan is a frequent speaker in training and physiotherapy science in seminars, conferences and workshops in Turkey and around the world.

Manu is a French strength and conditioning coach that has over two decades of experience working with high-level athletes. From 2001 he worked many different athletes from short track and tennis, to prepare them for the Olympics and the World Championships. During that period, Manu had the privilege of working in Dijon Sport Center under the famous French expert Gilles Cometti, where he specialized in athlete evaluation and programming.

In team settings Manuel started to work with basketball teams, starting with women in the second division and men in the first division. After 7 years in basketball. where Manu also had stints in international coaching (Switzerland, Japan, South Africa, Japan, Tunisia), he started to work in soccer as a coach for young elite teams and rehab specialist for professional teams.

At the same time Manu also covered a role of S&C coach in a professional handball teams. In 2014 he came back to basketball as a Head Strength and Conditioning coach for LDLC Asvel Basket, where he won 4 French championships and 3 French cups.

From 2021 Manu is also representing the national team as Head S&C coach of France Basketball.

Filip currently works as a Strength and Conditioning Coach of BC Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana, where he just finished his third season. Although, he comes from rugby, sport that he played on international level, he decided to dedicate his professional career to sport of his childhood, basketball. He started his S&C career as an assistant in Croatian national basketball team. His first independent job was BC Šibenik, after which he spent three years as a Head S&C coach of BC Cibona Zagreb, Croatia. A project that developed basketball names such as Ante Toni Žižić and Ivica Zubac. After that he went to BC Koper Primorska, Slovenia, a club, where under coach Jurica Golemac, he wins multiple cups and championships, which promoted him to his current job.

He graduated kinesiology and specialised in S&C at the Faculty of Kinesiology in Zagreb. His postgraduate education revolved around sports biomechanics, the research field that he practiced and learned at KU Leuven, Belgium, as a part of his doctorate program. While actively working as a S&C coach he successfully defended his PhD thesis entitled “The connection of local asymmetries of strength and scope of hip and torso movements with global asymmetries of strength and their influence on asymmetries and the performance of rapid change of direction of movement”.

Besides coaching, Filip is passionate researcher of the sport performance field, especially if it relates to basketball, in which he is published author. He is in constant search of finding ways to help his players and is always open to share his experience and knowledge with anyone related or interested in field of sport performance.

Employment history

Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach, Virtus Segafredo Bologna Basketball Club. Bologna, Italy
Aug. 2018-Present

• Collaborate in the daily leading of the team training sessions
• Develop and implement strength and conditioning individual programs for the athletes
• Collaborate in the planning and organisation of the team based and individual activities
• Collection, analysis and reporting of training load data

Strength and Conditioning Coach, Mens Sana Siena Basketball Club. Siena, Italy
Aug. 2017-Jun. 2018

Strength and Conditioning Coach, Reggiana Basketball Club. Reggio Emilia, Italy
Aug 2011-Jun 2017

Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach, Varese Basketball Club. Varese, Italy
Nov. 2008-Jun 2011

Education

• FIP, Italy
  Strength and Conditioning Coach for Basketball 2010
• Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano, Italy
  Master of Science, Sports Science, Jul. 2009
• Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano, Italy
  Bachelor of Science, Sports Science, Oct. 2007

Hugo Salazar is currently the Head Strength & Conditioning Coach for Baskonia Basketball and is responsible for players’ athletic performance. Before taking over Baskonia’s main team in 2020-21 season, Hugo was for 4 years physical performance coordinator in Baskonia youth. Prior to that, he served as a strength coach in female basketball club Araski that competed in First Spanish Division. In 2018 Hugo joined male basketball Basque Country national team under the role of a strength & conditioning coach, and this is his role ever since.

In formal education, Hugo earned a PhD in Sport Science from the Faculty of Education and Sport at the University of Basque Country (Vitoria-Gasteiz) what gave him an opportunity for lecturing in various Sport science programs in Spain. In addition, coach Salazar holds a Master’s Degree in Sport science research and in High performance in team sports.

Alejandro Garcia Toledo is currently the Head of Strength and Conditioning at Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar, club where he has been developing that same role since season the 2018-2019. Before that, he held the same position at Khimki Moscow Region (VTB, Eurocup), Perfumerias Avenida (Spanish Championship, Euroleague Women), Ros Casares (Spanish Championship, Euroleague Women) and some other Spanish clubs.

Speaker at different educational events, masters and courses, Alejandro was also Assistant Professor at the Universidad Europea of Madrid (2011-2016). During that period, one of his main responsibilities was to be in charge for the Laboratory of Analysis of the Competition. At September of 2019 he was able to defend his PhD project in the field of Sports Talent Development.

Alejandro is passionate about learning from new fields and a firm believer in ongoing education. He holds a Master’s Degree in Athletic Training and Nutrition from the Real Madrid School and the Universidad Europea (Madrid), a Master’s Degree in Sports Performance from the Spanish Olympic Committee and the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid and a Bachelor’s Degree in Sports Science from the Universidad Politecnica of Madrid.

During the off-season, Alejandro spends his time in Spain where he has been co-organising a basketball camp for youth players for the last 10 years, and training individually with professional basketball players.

Mladen Mihajlovic holds a Master’s Degree in High Performance Sport from UCAM Murcia, Spain. He currently serves as a Head Strength & Conditioning Coach Fenerbahce Beko. Mladen is a former Head Strength & Conditioning Coach of Serbian Men’s National Team, Virtus Segafredo Bologna, FC Bayern München Basketball, BC Partizan and BC Red Star. He is an Olympic silver medalist 2016, World Cup silver medalist 2014, Eurobasket silver medalist 2017, FIBA Champions league winner 2018/2019. German BBL Cup winner 2017/2018 and Italian LBA Champion 2020/2021.

Coach German Andrin boasts 25 years of experience as a strength and conditioning coach working in basketball as well as other team sports. As a member the Venezuelan Basketball National Team, he participated in two Olympic Games (London -2012 and Rio – 2016) as well as the Pan-American Games in Toronto in 2015. From 2016 to 2018 he worked as a strength and conditioning coach at Fuenlabrada BC competing in the ACB (Spanish Basketball League) and during the 2019-20 season he joined the Russian club of Zenit BC which competed in the VTB League as well as the Euroleague.

Andrin is a frequent speaker at international events and courses covering a variety of topics regarding athletic development, programming and load monitoring. He is also a professor of physical education at the San Martin University, Argentina and a Strength and Conditioning Coach Level 1 and 2 (Litoral National University, Argentina.

Matteo Panichi is a former professional basketball player with a 17-year career. He has played for major Italian pro teams like Scavolini Pesaro, Varese, Virtus Bologna and Rimini.

He earned his master’s degree in Motor Activity Sciences and Techniques, and he is a holder of the national certificates for basketball coaching and basketball strength & conditioning.

In the fall of 2022, Matteo is entering his second season as the Head Strength & Conditioning Coach for Segafredo Virtus Bologna. Prior to this experience, he has served as performance specialist in Armani Exchange Olimpia Milano, Sutor Montegranaro and Vanoli Cremona.

Matteo has been a part of various Italian national teams (men, women, youth) for almost a decade, where he currently has a role of the Head Strength & Conditioning Coach.

Besides coaching, Matteo devotes his time in lecturing and mentoring young S&C in the field. He also serves as vice-president of the APFIP – the Italian Strength and Conditioning Coaches’ Association.

A native of Villanueva de Cordoba, Spain, Jose obtained his bachelor’s degree in Physical Activity and Sports Sciences in 1994 from the University of Valencia, Spain, with a specialization in basketball. Since then, he has continuously worked as a basketball athletic development coach in several teams and settings in different countries, namely in Valencia Basket, Ros Casares, Fenerbahce BC Women’s team, Kastoria, Romania’s Women’s National Team and Sibiu.

Currently, he is the head strength and conditioning coach of Alba Berlin that competes in the prestigious Euroleague, as well as the German professional league. In Alba, Coach Silva has found an ideal environment to apply his cumulative experience and knowledge in performance enhancement and rehabilitation, as the team fully supports his work by providing him all the necessary tools to achieve his pursuits.

Apart from coaching, Pepe is passionate about learning and thus he takes advantage of every opportunity to expand his knowledge, whether it is reading scientific publications, attending events or talking to other professionals in the sports’ world. His long and diverse career has allowed him to have a wealth of experiences working in all categories of basketball, from children to senior, male and female, in different countries and cultures and interacting with different coaches, assistants and therapists.

Rubén Cabanillas is an outstanding professional in the field of sports rehabilitation, with solid experience as a rehabilitator for the RCDE Espanyol football team. Currently, Ruben is the S&C coach of FC Barcelona U-17 team.

He is recognized for his specialization in the use of blood flow restriction as an innovative tool in the practical application of injuries.

With a double degree in Physical Activity and Sports Sciences (CAFYD) and Physiotherapy, Rubén has combined his passion for sport with a deep knowledge in the field of rehabilitation and injury prevention. His academic background and hands-on experience have allowed him to develop a comprehensive approach to the treatment and recovery of high-performance athletes.

As a rehabilitator at RCDE Espanyol, Rubén has worked with elite athletes, using advanced techniques and innovative methodologies to accelerate the recovery process and maximise sports performance. His ability to effectively apply blood flow restriction in the context of sports injuries has made him a benchmark in this field, both nationally and internationally.

In addition to his practical experience, Rubén is passionate about research and continuing education. He is constantly updated on the latest developments in the field of sports rehabilitation, and shares his knowledge through conferences, courses and specialist publications.

With a solid academic background, extensive professional experience and an innovative approach to injury rehabilitation, Rubén Cabanillas is a benchmark in the sports field, contributing significantly to the success and well-being of the athletes he trains.

Roberto is currently the Head Strength & Conditioning Coach at Brescia Basketball, after spending three seasons in Israel with Hapoel Jerusalem Basketball. During his fifteen year career, he has been an integral part of competitive teams in Italy, including two stints with the Italian Basketball Federation.

In addition to his full-time post, Roberto is the host of Sport Vitamins podcast, interviewing leading experts from around the world in the sports performance field to give the listener first-hand knowledge of how to best develop athletes’ physical tools to have them primed for competition.

Coach Iezzi holds a master’s degree in Sport Science from the University of Rome.

Roberto also has a background as a baseball player, with more than 15 seasons between the first and second division in Italy.

Justas Grainys is an Athletic Performance coach of FC Barcelona Basketball since 2020 where he won several titles in the Spanish league and had two appearances in final of the Euroleague Final Four.

Prior to joining the Spanish powerhouse, Justas held the same position at the historic Lithuanian team of Zalgiris Kaunas, from 2012 until 2020. In Zalgiris 2019 – 2021 Lithuanian men National team. From 2011 – 2019 different youth National teams: U18, U19, U20. Education: Master’s degree in sports science and physiology; Bachelor level in sports education and coaching.

Marcus Lindner is a highly experienced Performance Coach, with a career in elite basketball spanning over two decades.

From 2021 to 2025, he served as the Head of Physical Performance at HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim, where he played a pivotal role in enhancing the team’s physical conditioning and performance. Prior to that, he held the same positions at FC Bayern München Basketball from 2020 to 2021and from 2015 to 2020, he worked with BC Unics Kazan, focusing on optimizing player performance through tailored training programs. Currently, he holds the position of Head Strength & Conditioning coach at RASTA Vechta, bringing his extensive knowledge and innovative training methods to the team.

His journey also includes a tenure with the German Basketball National Team from 2009 to 2015, where he was instrumental in preparing athletes for international competitions. Additionally, he had the privilege of working with Brose Baskets Bamberg from 2010 to 2015 and Köln 99ers from 2007 to 2010, further solidifying his reputation as a dedicated and skilled performance coach.

Cory Schlesinger is finishing his third season in the NBA working as the Director of Performance
Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Phoenix Suns.

Prior to the league, he was the Director of Basketball Performance at Stanford University. In his time on The Farm, he has revolutionized in-season strength training for collegiate student-athletes, with a method that is now internationally recognized. He has been a chosen presenter on both the national and international stage, sharing his philosophy in strength training to other experts and colleagues in the field. He is continuously sharing his knowledge and experience on multiple platforms, including podcasts, satellite radio, and several public speaking engagements.

Prior to joining the staff at Stanford, Schlesinger spent three years as the Director of Basketball Performance at UAB, two years as the Director of Strength and Conditioning at Santa Clara University, and two years as an Assistant at Campbell University.

Uniquely, Schlesinger also played basketball at the collegiate level, which brings his experience to over 14 years in higher-level basketball as a player and a coach.

Dr. Ramsey Nijem, Sc.D, was named Men’s Basketball Director of Sport Performance in September of 2019.

Nijem (pronounced Nigh-jum) came to Kansas after working the previous five years with the Sacramento Kings of the NBA where he managed all aspects of sport performance.

Nijem was the NBA’s youngest head strength and conditioning coach. He spent the last three years as the team’s head strength and conditioning coach. In that role, Nijem directed strength and conditioning, sport science and nutrition with the objective of supporting athlete health, wellness and performance.

The San Francisco Bay area native spent two seasons as the Kings’ assistant strength and conditioning coach prior to being named head strength and conditioning coach.

Before joining the Kings, Nijem was the head strength and conditioning coach at Santa Barbara City College and prior to that, he worked as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at UC Santa Barbara.

Nijem earned his doctorate of science in human and sport performance from Rocky Mountain University Health Professions in 2018. He attained his masters of science sport performance degree from Cal State Fullerton in 2013 and his bachelors of arts communication, exercise and health sciences degree from UC Santa Barbara in 2012.

Nijem is certified by the National Strength and Conditioning Associate as a Registered Strength and Conditioning Coach and Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS). He is also certified as a USA Weightlifting Performance Coach by USAW and is a Precision Nutrition Coach. Nijem has published research in top scientific journals in strength and conditioning.

Serhat Turkoglu is the head strength and conditioning coach for Fenerbahce Women’s Basketball. Fener is the reigning champion of the Turkish League and one of the top clubs in Europe.

Prior to Fenerbahce, Serhat has held similar positions in other professional Turkish Clubs like Arel Üniversitesi Büyükçekmece Basket, Sigortam.net İtü Basket, Bakırköy Basketball Spor Club, and Pertevniyal Gençlik ve Spor Kulübü.

Serhat has extensive experience training atheletes of all levels as he is the co-founder and head coach of Turkoglu Athletic Performance, a excusive performance training facility in Istanbul, Turkey, that focuses on the development of young athletes.

Coach Turkoglu earned his undergraduate degree in business management from the University of South Florida. He has alos earned several strenth and conditioning certifications from both Turkish and International institutions.

Since his teenage years in his hometown Karlsruhe/Germany, Sebastian has been coaching youth teams in American football, a game he played himself on the highest European level. Although being a general sports-enthusiast with an interest in an array of disciplines, he always had a strong connection to basketball and in particular to his hometown team PSK Lions.

Sebastian has worked as an S&C coach in different fields and was consultant to triathletes and olympic mountain bikers. He earned his master’s degree in sports management from the Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences and his diploma in training science from AFSM Salzburg. Recovery, sleep, nutrition and cognitive training are among his special fields of interest – areas in which he received further qualification in Germany and abroad. Before joining the ALBA Berlin performance staff, he spent two seasons in Spanish soccer as the head of sports science of CD Atlético Baleares.

At ALBA Berlin he is supporting Pepe Silva with conditioning, rehabbing and everything related to tracking and monitoring. As the “invisible coach” of the pro team, he is taking care of optimizing nutrition and recovery within the demanding Euroleague and BBL schedule, while he’s also preparing ALBA’s prospects in the youth academy for the next level.