"Everything Basketball Training"

As the Director of Sports Performance for the Auburn men’s basketball team, Coach Damon Davis is a slam-dunk when it comes to getting Johni Broome, Dylan Cardwell and company conditioned and primed to fulfill their physical potential on the court.The Petersburg, Illinois native is now in his 15th season on The Plains.“I really just wanted to work with athletes,” said Davis. “I wrestled at Western Illinois University, so I have a background of being a division one athlete. That’s what got me interested in strength conditioning, because without being bigger and stronger, I wouldn't have been able to compete at that level.”After graduating college, Davis interned with the Chicago Bulls in the early 2000’s.“I really went there because of Al Vermeil,” explained Davis. “He's the only strength coach in professional sports to earn championships in both football and basketball, with the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers and the NBA’s Chicago Bulls. He's really a true legend in our field.” Davis, a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist, spent four years as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at the University of Iowa before heading to The Plains. When he first arrived at Auburn in 2008, Davis trained athletes in track and field, golf, tennis and baseball before moving to men’s basketball in 2012. “A lot of people would be really interested in what all goes into it,” said Davis. “Technology has increased in the past 10 to 15 years, and it's obviously becoming more integrated with what we do to monitor player load.” Auburn men’s basketball players wear accelerometers in their shorts during games and practices. These motion-sensing devices track and analyze player movement and gather data on speed, acceleration and changes in direction, providing insights into performance, training effectiveness and even injury risk. They also use jump plates that measure force – a valuable tool that gives Davis a deeper understanding into an athlete's power, strength and movement efficiency.“Basketball is one of those sports that you need to be good in all three planes of motion,” explained Davis. “You’ve got to be good vertically, you’ve got to have good acceleration linearly to sprint down the court, and then you've got to be able to move multidirectional or laterally to play defense.”With a grueling 30+ game 2024-25 season, Auburn men’s basketball is playing one of the toughest schedules in the nation. Intensity must remain high.“We're training twice a week, playing twice a week, and on some level, the lifting and strength conditioning helps manage the fatigue,” said Davis. “The movement and the blood flow through strength and power training helps players recover.”Without a doubt, Davis is a steady secret weapon for head coach Bruce Pearl.“I'm blessed to work under such great leadership that has allowed me to be part of the success and have stability for such a long time,” said Davis.  “Coach Pearl has done such a great job developing this program and building it tirelessly.  We've had very little turnover. Our staff has been more consistent than any other college staff that I've ever witnessed.”Davis is also quick to credit the Auburn Family as a big part of the team’s success this year.“When you go to other places, it's not the same, the jungle is the jungle,” said Davis. “I love our fan’s enthusiasm and it's such an advantage.”He relishes seeing the team’s hard work come full circle.“When you get a group of guys all pulling in the same direction, I think you get what you're seeing right now,” said Davis. “You see the success, the brotherhood, and all these guys just having fun playing together, and they love each other. Yeah, it's special.”Check out our Everything Auburn Podcast Hub!