Sam Acho: Welcome to the Sam Acho podcast featuring Cliff Marshall.
A place where we go first, we grow, hope we give space.
And so Cliff, we have a very, very special guest and I can't wait
to hear you introduce our guest.
Clif Marshall: Yes, Sam, I'm so excited today 'cause we have
Jalen Hood Sheeno on the show now.
I call him Feno.
I'll probably call him Feno throughout the the show today.
But Feno just finished his second year in the NBA and he played his
college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers, where he was named Big
10 Freshman of the Year in 2023.
And he went on to become a first round drafted to the LA Lakers and we will
certainly get into that later in the show.
But, um, Jalen, I want to just say thank you so much for joining us,
for giving us your time this morning.
And we talk on this podcast about faith.
Family, football and finances.
Now you don't play football, but you come from a football family.
Can you explain to us a little bit about, uh, how football is a part of your blood?
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Yeah, football is a big part of my blood man.
And even before I get started, I just wanna say I appreciate both
of you guys for having me on.
Um, obviously I don't know you like personally, Sam, but you
know, it's obviously great to meet you and I can tell you're, you
know, a good man and everything.
And for you, coach Cliff, you already know what it is between us.
Um, great dude, we always talk about, you know, great humans.
You're definitely the example of that.
So I just wanna say I appreciate you and give you your flowers.
Um, but to answer that question, man, yeah, I grew up in a
basketball and football family.
Um, my, uh, my, my uncle Jake actually played in the NFL.
He played for the, um, Texas tight Texas.
Titans or yeah, Texas Titans.
And then the, uh, Houston, Houston Texans.
And he would play with the Patriots as well.
Um, so in my early days growing up, I remember being at my, uh, my grandparents'
house and seeing him going through like his, his routine in, in the weight
room downstairs or being in the back backyard, him teaching me like the
nine o'clock, like all the catches.
'cause he played wide receiver and everything.
So, um, I had that example.
My dad played quarterback as well, so when I was playing up in my
early days, I played quarterback.
So I was always outside with my dad throwing the football.
He was always, you know, giving me the ropes, uh, teaching me the ropes.
Um, who else?
My, my uncle, my, uh, my cousin Deandre played football for
the University of Pittsburgh.
Um, he's a couple years older than me, so growing up being younger, I've always,
you know, had him and my other cousin Sharon, who played college basketball at
Point Park, um, had them to always grow with playing basketball and football.
So, um.
Yeah, man, I, I just, I've always had football and basketball kind of in my
life since I was a baby, so it was kind of, I was pretty much born into it.
Clif Marshall: So part of our priest, oh, go ahead Sam.
Sorry.
Sam Acho: real quick, I know Cliff, but I'm, but I got a question of, okay, you
grew up in a football and basketball.
Why'd you choose basketball over football?
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Yeah, I mean, honestly, man, like growing it is crazy.
'cause if you ask any one of my family members, like if you were to spend a
day with me as a little kid, I would be a hundred different things in a day.
But in terms of basketball, football, in the morning time, I might wake up,
be a football player in the middle of the day, I might be a basketball player,
then I might, you know what I'm saying?
I've, I was always switching off.
But fast forward to when I was like in sixth grade.
Um, during that time, me, my mom and my sister, we actually moved to,
uh, Charlotte, North Carolina, and.
I went to a middle school, Bailey Middle School, um, sixth
grade you couldn't play sports.
But my seventh grade year, that's when you could play.
You obviously like the, uh, middle school sports, basketball, football and whatnot.
So tried out, played basketball and football.
Seventh grade actually played with the quarterback for the Patriots.
Drake May.
Me and him played.
He was, he was a year above me, but me and him went to the same middle school.
We played basketball together.
We played football together.
That was actually, I didn't play quarterback that year.
He played quarterback and I played, I was good, but he
was, he, he played quarterback.
Um, and I played, played wide receiver, a little bit of running
back, and I played defense as well.
But I think after my seventh grade year, um, I was in Charlotte.
Charlotte was like a big city for basketball.
Um, I was starting to kind of like get a little bit of buzz
like in the city with basketball.
Like people were starting to recognize me as like, okay, like
this young kid is up and coming.
He has potential.
Like, so once I started to hear that and I started to just.
I really wanna perfect one thing, I'm, I'm the type of person, like I need to
like die down and focus on like one thing.
And I've always felt like it was tough to be in basketball season and like,
be my best at football and vice versa.
So for me it was like after my seventh grade year, I kind of told my mom for
my eighth grade year, I really want to like, take this time to just lock in on
basketball and get ready for high school.
'cause I feel like I told her like, I feel like I'm gonna end up making it.
So yeah, that was, that was kind of the story with that
Sam Acho: Eighth grade.
Jalen Hood-Schifino: like eighth grade was like the, that was like
the time I, I decided it was time to focus on basketball for sure.
Clif Marshall: Well, Fino, you've got the body for both.
Let me tell you, Sam, he came on his official visit and
I measured him in, right?
I get his height at six foot five.
I get his wingspan at six, 10 and a half, and then I weigh him in and he is two 15
and I'm like as a strength coach, right?
In college basketball, that is your dream to have a freshman
point guard walk in at that size.
But pheno, you had the body.
You could have played football as well, no question.
The other thing I wanna mention on your official visit, I'll never
forget, your mom and your sister came with you, and I knew right away
that there was a special bond, a special connection between you guys.
Can you speak to that and why your mom and sister are so important to you?
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Yeah, like that's, I've always went by, I've, I've probably
said in the media too, in like interviews, it was always street or hard way, and
that's not taken away from anyone else.
Like I have a, a, a huge support system.
I have a lot of great people who support me, who poured into me.
So, um, that's not taken away from anyone, but.
Like I said, when I was in sixth grade, me, my mom and my sister, we
moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, and it was just us down there.
So we did spend a lot of time together.
Um, early on before I made, made a transition later in my high school
career, it was typically just us three.
So growing up, like growing those early years where I was like.
In the process of playing a a u basketball, um, playing middle
school sports, like my mom was pretty much doing everything.
Like she was the one taking me to those practices.
She was the one staying up late.
She was the one waking up early before work to take me to, like, just making
all the sacrifices and doing all the, all the things that I needed to do
to pretty much be the man I am now.
And my little sister, she's, she's 12 right now, but early on during those
times, obviously she was a baby, so she, she don't know what's going on.
She's just always in the gyms, being up late, falling asleep on the bleachers,
just pretty much having a, pretty much, not having a say, just being a baby,
having to just be in all the gyms, being, um, around sports, sports, sports.
Um, so those two definitely made a lot of sacrifices.
So for me, it is always been through the hard way.
And, you know, now I'm obviously, I've reached my, my goal and
my dream of getting to the NBA.
So now I try to just, um, repay them and, um.
Just always sh show my, show my gratitude towards, towards them for
everything that they did for me.
Sam Acho: Fino.
I want to go back to moving to North Carolina.
What caused that move?
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Yeah.
So I actually need to go back a little bit.
So I'm from Pittsburgh and then when I was, um, when I was either eight or
nine, me and my mom and my dad moved to Charlotte when I was like eight or nine.
So I was like in the, I was, um, maybe I was eight, so I was like in second
grade, first or second grade seven.
I was seven, actually I was seventh.
So from my first and second grade year, I spent two years in
Charlotte with my mom and dad.
And then, um, for my third, third grade year, I ended up going back to Pittsburgh.
Um, spent third grade, fourth grade, summer of fifth grade.
And then, um, during those years, my mom and my dad had split.
Um, and then my sister ended up, you know, being born.
So my mom just decided, um.
She wanted to, you know, have a change and kind of start something new.
So that's how we made the return back to Charlotte.
Clif Marshall: And Feno, obviously you've moved from Charlotte, right?
Um, now to, you went to Mount Verde,
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Mm-hmm.
Clif Marshall: high school.
You
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Yeah.
Clif Marshall: Mount Verde, you came to Indiana University for one year,
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Yeah.
Clif Marshall: boom, you're off to the MBA.
So you've certainly made, um, the most of every opportunity, but I
really want to talk to you about that transition from high school to college
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Mm-hmm.
Clif Marshall: kind of what that was like for you both mentally and physically.
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Man, it was definitely a lot.
I think any, any transition is always a lot on anyone.
And I think the main thing is you gotta learn how to adapt and find ways for
you to be successful, for you to thrive.
And, um, thankfully again, I've been.
I've crossed paths with so many great people and so many people who poured
in so much into me from an early age.
And starting at high school, like my first year I went to,
uh, Northside Christian Academy.
And then after that year, honestly, I've, so before even going to
my freshman year, we kind of had already set, set a plan out for me.
'cause once I told my mom in eighth grade the goal was to get to the
NBA at that point it was like, all right, so how can we maximize that?
And my eighth grade summer, um, I ended up going to a, this is kind of like
the start of it all for this, this is like the start of my journey to where I
started to, um, go, go on the right path.
My eighth grade summer, I went to a CP three Rising Stars camp, and that's
where all the top in my class 2022, that's where all the top players was.
So any of the players from, so it was a whole bunch of guys I can name.
Um, I went there.
I made a name for myself and end up getting invited
to the USA basketball camp.
And once you get that invite, you kind of know like.
Okay, I might can do something with it.
And then they dropped like the ESPN top 25 rankings and I was on
there, I was like 22, so five star.
So at a, so that's when I like, it kind of like hit me, like that was
like the start of it where mentally I'm like, okay, everything that I
used to dream of and watch on YouTube, like all the lists and all that
stuff, like that's, that's reachable.
And I've always wanted to go to Mount Verde and go to those
type of school, Oak Hill.
So my freshman year, that was kind of the plan.
It was like, we're gonna spend either one or two years at like a
school in Charlotte and try to go to a school like a Mount Verde.
And thankfully I ended up having like Mount Vern kind of like
built that connection and had that rapport like my freshman year.
So after my freshman year, um, I was honestly going to go to Mount
ve but I just think I wasn't ready, like from a mental standpoint.
Like again, it was just always me and my mom and my sister and I was super.
Just super nervous about that move, going all the way to Florida, staying
in a dorm, not being able to be home.
So that, that in itself was tough and I dealt with that at an early age.
And then I ended up going to Coal Mine Academy where I played with
Jeff McGinnis, a former NBA player.
And that was challenging as well 'cause I known Jeff since I was a little boy.
Um, when I moved to Charlotte, I started playing with his a a U organization
team Charlotte, and pretty much me and him had that relationship.
So, um, my mom was like, well, if you wanna make that move and really
challenge yourself, you need to either go to a school like a Mount ve where
you know you're playing against the best competition every single day
and get coached by the best players.
Or you should go to a school like a combine where you'll play with Coach
Jeff, somebody who's played in the NBA knows the ropes can teach you and you
can also play like a national schedule.
So at that time, like I said, I wasn't ready to go to Mount Verse, so I
ended up choosing to go to combine.
Um, did a, did did a year there, had a good year.
Um, and honestly, after that year.
My thing was, alright, I'm, I'm ready for the next challenge and
I'm ready to go to a school like a m ve 'cause that was always the goal.
So after my sophomore year, I went to m ve for my junior and senior year.
My junior year.
When I went down there, that was like a, um,
how do I say it?
Like, that was like my, that was like the thing that tested me the
most in my basketball journey.
'cause it's like you're, you're away from home, staying in
the dorm, um, a strict school.
Um, and it's just challenging.
And I think that was during the covid year too, so it was a whole bunch of rules.
But that was like the first time I was able to be in that environment where
everybody that I'm practicing and playing against is, is in the same boat as me.
I'm playing with the top five players, whatever, playing with, uh, j Jalen
Duran, Dari Whitehead, Caleb Houston, uh, Ryan Nihart, Langston Love.
Um.
Th those are some of the guys that were on that team my junior year.
And I actually, I didn't even play a lot that year.
Um, honestly, that was just more like a development year, a lot of learning.
Um, and that was more so that, and then I came back my senior year,
um, started point guard, played like 30, 32, like 30 minutes a game, um,
and won a national championship.
And then I ended up, decided to come to Indiana.
Um, and then after that, man, the rest is history.
Sam Acho: I wanna, real quick 'cause I wanna get to the Indiana piece and that,
but, but going back to the adversity, we talk a lot on this podcast about adversity
and how that can build character.
What did you learn during that junior year away from family about yourself?
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Honestly.
I did learn that.
I'm like a, I, I, I'm able, anything I put my mind to, I can do it.
And that I'm very tough cause Again, I was, my junior year, I was like, what, 16
or something around that age, whatever.
And again, that's, that's not normal for any like, high school kid to like
just be away from all their family and just to be, you know, at a dorm.
And now it's like, uh, you could tell like my life is kind of shifting towards
like, I'm putting all my eggs into basketball and obviously like Montverde
is a great school, school as well, not just for sports, like a great academic
school and everything, but when you go to Montverde and you're on the basket,
like, you know, like, all right, like basketball is like my, won't be my lane.
So again, like just being away from home and then playing like
seven to eight minutes a game my junior year, like, it was tough.
And I used to call my mom all the time and just be like, mom, like, truthfully,
like I, I, I don't like it here.
Like, I would say that to her, but it would never show up in like my attitude.
Like if you ask any of my coaches or teammates, like I
showed up to work every day.
I got extra work in.
I never verbally necessarily complained at practice or to anyone around.
But, um, I.
To answer your question, like whenever I was going through all of that and
I still maintained and stay even keel and just continue to put in the work,
um, I think that was when I knew.
And then that summer I had a good summer with a a u and everything, and then I went
on to have a good, a good senior year.
Clif Marshall: Know, I want to talk about while you're at Indiana,
right, you're a true freshman.
You come in, um, you're on a team that is full of a lot of older players,
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Yeah.
Clif Marshall: And, you know, you came in and if somebody was watching from
afar, it was just how you handled your day-to-day business that you, you weren't
your typical 18, 19-year-old freshman.
I'll never forget the first time you walked in the gym, was like first week
of June, everybody's getting to campus.
Sam, you remember that, that first week that you were on campus at Texas
as a, as a Longhorn football player.
just like to watch the players, how they carry themselves.
And I'll never forget, FENO comes in the gym before they play pickup.
Most guys will grab a basketball, right?
And just start getting up some shots, right?
Getting loose.
Feno grabs a mat and he goes to the corner and he starts going
through his own dynamic warmup.
And I'm like, man, this guy's different.
And um, of course he, he goes through that fast forward, right?
He has an incredible year.
He's the big 10 freshman of the year.
Um.
Yeah, but I wanna talk about the mindset.
Um, we have an optional game day chapel and, uh, pheno would always show up there
and pheno, do you remember that I you guys to choose one word, to focus on during the
season, and then you would kind of choose a Bible verse that would go with that.
Can you tell us what your one word was and why you chose that?
Jalen Hood-Schifino: I remember during that time my word was peace.
My word was peace.
And I think I just chose that because I think that was during a time where,
to be honest, like at times I'm, I'm typically a person who's, you, you,
you kind of know my personality cliff.
I'm more just reserved and kind of laid back.
So I typically don't get like too high or too low.
But I think even after my senior year, like I knew I was going to a great school.
I was gonna be around a lot of great people, but I did kind of, that's just
always been my goal to be a one and done.
So I'm not gonna say I put a lot of pressure on myself to do that, but I
definitely went in with the attention to like, all right, I'm gonna put
in the work and I'm gonna maximize what I can to get to that level.
And I think early on, honestly, I.
Before the season I was creating some buzz 'cause we had a good pro day or whatnot.
So that's definitely in your mental as a 18, 19-year-old kid, you're, you're,
you're obviously thinking about that.
And I think fast forward as the season was going on, I didn't
start off the season good.
Um, wasn't shooting the ball as well.
Like I was playing well overall, like being a good play maker, facilitator.
But in terms of just like my shooting and everything, my numbers weren't good.
And um, I think just fast forward as we started to play through games, I
think I just started to find myself settle in and kind of find that peace.
And that was just kind of the word I gave Coach Cliff.
'cause I just felt like, especially in the college season, you're gonna
go through many ups and downs.
You're gonna go through wins, losses, great games, bad games, but if you can
have that internal peace and stay even keel, you'll be able to, you know,
maximize and get what you want outta you know, the, the situation and try
to reach towards that positive outcome.
So I think peace for me in college was definitely a big thing, is
something that I tried to focus on.
Clif Marshall: Hey, Sam, real quick, real quick.
Sam, I just gotta say this.
If you were to walk in my office right now at, at my home, uh, FENO, you'll
see throughout the office, right?
He's got this picture right here of me and him on draft night,
which I'll get to in just a moment.
that's, uh, that's at the NBA draft, the green
Jalen Hood-Schifino: sir.
Clif Marshall: a part of.
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Yep.
Clif Marshall: But more than anything else, man, I have a letter that Fino
wrote to me, um, as he was departing his last week in Bloomington, Indiana.
Now, he didn't just write me a letter.
He actually wrote it to every assistant and also the head coach.
and the letter that he wrote to me says, he says, coach Clif thank you
for your time, passion, and dedication in getting my body prepared to play
at the highest level that I can play at Peace That's the one thing I was
searching for this year, and I got it.
You're a big reason for that.
I will cherish the times we spent outside of basketball, especially
going fishing and the game day chapels.
Thank you for always reminding me to do my best and to trust God with the rest.
God is faithful.
Love Fino I share that with you guys because I want you to know
that's the heart of Jalen Hood Fino.
How many other 19-year-old freshmen would hand write a
letter and give it to every coach?
That was a part of his journey at Indiana.
And then obviously I'm chasing crowns.
Not rings as a coach.
in my office I also have some championship rings that I've won
over my 25 years as a strength and conditioning coach, But I would consider
this letter a crown and not a ring.
the reason it is is because this relationship is eternal.
ring is only temporary.
So fino, I want to thank you so much, brother, because this letter
that you wrote me hangs right up in my office here at home, and
it reminds me why I do what I do.
So I appreciate you for that.
Jalen Hood-Schifino: A hundred percent man.
And I think even going back to like the word peace, like again, aside from
basketball, I think like just first getting to campus, like probably like
our second day there, like Coach Cliff had me and the three other freshmen,
Malik Renew, CJ Gunn and Kayla Banks.
Like he, he kind of like honestly helped.
We were all like, we didn't know each other.
We all kind of had a group chat before, like college and everything.
But when he got down there, he kind of just made that
connection with us four smoother.
And then like, we built a really strong relationship with Coach Cliff, so he
kind of just helped us transition, especially being the young guys.
Like he was taking us out to fishing, we were going to chapel every
Sunday, again, something to eat.
So that was like the start of it.
And I mean, I always like to say like, for me, basketball is like, it's, it's
definitely deeper than basketball.
Like you wanna build connections with great people.
And truthfully, at Indiana, like that was like, that was probably one of the
best, if not like the best experiences I've I've had in my life just because
of like the people that was there.
You know what I mean?
So again, I appreciate you Coach Cliff, and man, you know, you
already know what it is with us.
Sam Acho: Hmm, coach Cliff, can I ask you a question?
I'm gonna change it up a little bit.
Why?
Why do you do what you do?
Clif Marshall: Well, I think, you know, early in my career
it was to, it was to win man.
It was to win championships.
It was to get guys, you know, bigger, faster, stronger.
And there was a a moment in my career.
2012 where it hit me like, man, God's not gonna ask you about how many guys you
had, uh, going the first round of the NBA draft or the NFL draft, or how many four,
three forties you trained, or 40 inch vertical jumps, or pound bench pressors.
Right?
He's gonna ask you did you impact those that you trained?
And a long story short, I had a player that I was training for the NFL
combine had a near death experience and it really rocked my world.
Um, in terms of, man, why are you doing what you're doing?
Like if you go to this player's funeral, is it really gonna matter where he
got drafted or what his 40 time was?
No.
What's really gonna matter is how did you impact him?
How did you love him and how did you share the gospel with him?
And, um, thankfully the player ended up living.
We, Sam, you know, the facility that I was training out of Ignition, we
were, we were doing an FL combine prep down in Naples, Florida.
And uh, one day after a workout.
He decided to go get on a jet ski.
when he got on this jet ski, he, he literally went so far out
that it, it got outside the GPS where they couldn't track him.
And um, he ends up getting stranded out in the middle of the gulf and
they have to call in the search and rescue and basically there's
three hours of search and rescue.
They found the jet ski, but he wasn't on it.
So, man, it was most one of the most scariest moments of my life because
in this moment I'm thinking about, man, I'm gonna have to call this
player's family, his agent, right?
Um, this is gonna be national news.
um, thankfully they found him with like 10 minutes left in the
search and they rushed him to the hospital and he certainly lived.
But Sam, that shook me.
And ever since then, I've taken a different approach
to the way I train athletes.
Sam Acho: And it sounds like, um, it's like there's a lesson
pheno I'm hearing from you.
And Cliff, I'm hearing from you as well is it's not always about the tangible
things that you can feel and touch.
It's almost about sometimes more the intangible things that you
maybe cannot feel or touch or see.
Pheno.
You talked about how important it was for you to be around, uh, your
mom and your sister through the hard way, but then you talked about
that adversity that you experienced.
When you went at 16, 17 years old by yourself and all of a sudden you realize,
okay man, I grew and I didn't play a lot.
Like we all think, man, I want to be on the field or be on the court.
I wanna play at least 30 minutes.
You were barely playing on the outside, but you were growing on the inside cliff.
You talk about all the accolades, the people you've trained, the first rounders,
N-B-A-M-L-B, uh, NFL, all these things.
But it's the experience that no one else knew about, where it's
like lives are being changed.
And so it almost, what I'm hearing is this idea of if we focus more on
those things that maybe the world doesn't put as big of a shine on?
You know, people I talk about oftentimes like, man, how do
you win without losing it all?
Like, everybody's like, man, not get the contract man, or get, you know,
get the, get whatever this thing is.
And it's like, no, actually, like there's things that are
more weighty, maybe more eternal.
There are things that actually so much more than just on
field or on court success.
Jalen Hood-Schifino: A hundred percent.
I agree with that and I, I think like, again, like now, 2025, we live
in a, a world where like social media and everything is at our fingertips.
You're able to, it, it's just a lot.
So I think like sometimes you can definitely get caught up in the social
media or getting caught up into like how it should be or this per whatever.
So I think like, like you said, just controlling the things you could control.
And honestly, like things aren't always gonna go your way.
Everyone's gonna go through good times, bad times.
But if you could control your mind and control your everyday approach,
I think you'll eventually, I.
End up being in the place you want to.
And I think for me, in, in my life, that's kind of how it's been for me.
Like the times where it's been the hardest for the times where it
might not have been going my way.
When I focus on the things that I can control, which is my mind, taking care of
my body, putting in the work, being a good person, um, all of those things, I felt
like at some point it might not have been when I wanted it to, but God's going to,
um, show, show you the way pretty much.
So not for sure.
I, I, I definitely agree with that.
Clif Marshall: Feno, I wanted to ask you quickly about the, um.
The transition from college, all right.
You become the big 10 freshman of the year, which was at a great honor.
You play on a team that becomes, um, you know, a number four overall seed in the
NCAA tournament, um, you end up getting beat out of the, of the tournament, by
the Miami Hurricanes who ended up going on to that year, to the Final four.
one thing that I'll never forget about that is that when you're in
that March Madness, Sam, and you're playing in the tournament, they
have what they call open interviews.
so that means win or lose after the game, the media comes in and
they interview the players players.
And so it's kind of like an NFL locker room, which you're used to that saying.
But the rule is that you have to be at your locker you have
to, be in front of the media.
And I will never forget, man, that, that I go in the restroom
and I hear somebody crying.
Like just uncontrollably crying after this game and they're in the
stall and the door is locked, I could tell it was pheno so pheno.
I wanted to ask you about that moment, because I know you were supposed to be
out there in front of the media answering questions, but you were so distraught
that you couldn't even face them, and there was pain and there was heartache.
But I want you to walk me through what you were feeling in that moment.
I.
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Man.
Yeah.
Like I, I, I tried to, I wanted to keep it professional and tried
to be out there for the media, regardless of the outcome of the game.
But truthfully, like, I just couldn't even get, I couldn't
like, get my emotions to slow down.
Like, really, pretty much soon as the, the horn hit, like, I think
walking, we was walking off the court.
Like, I felt like, it just felt like everything was like, in my mind I did
kind of know like everything was over.
Like I did know, like I was probably going to declare for the draft.
Like, that was probably gonna be my last year, my last time playing for Indiana.
Being around my coaches, you like everyone playing with those guys.
So everything really just hit me soon as the, soon as the buzzer went off.
So, man, it was, it, it was tough, you know?
I was just, even though it was like a sad moment of a loss, I was
crying almost because of like all the joy that I've had at Indiana.
Like all, like, honestly I was crying because of like, like, like the joy I had.
And it was just like, dang, like I really enjoyed this experience.
I really met some great people and like.
All these guys, male, female, like these would be my brothers and sisters forever.
So yeah, it, it was honestly me crying outta like, just like outta
love and just like not wanting to, not wanting, not wanting the Indiana
experience to be over, honestly.
So, nah, I definitely remember that day.
I
Sam Acho: Hmm.
was it about that experience that was so special?
Jalen Hood-Schifino: really just like, I could get into like the basketball
part after, but like, really honestly, like the, the connections and like
the people, and that's going back to like the summertime where we were all,
you know, doing team bonding stuff.
Coach Cliff was.
Ma like taking us out to fishing, um, going to church, like honestly, like
Coach Cliff, set the tone for that.
And then obviously like we just had like a great group of, of guys, honestly.
And we all had good chemistry.
We all connected and had a great co coaching staff.
And, uh, for me before getting to college, like I was always just hearing
stories of like, guys going to schools and they were like, the coaches were
like this in the recruiting process.
And then when you get there, they're the total opposite.
And for me, it was just like, I never experienced that.
Like everything that they said in the recruiting process, like
whenever I got there, I, I felt like I did my part, but like it was
all true and it was all authentic.
So, um, I don't know.
And I, I just think like really the people there and then obviously on the
basketball court, just I think for me, like just the lessons and the growth
I made over the course of the year, I think it was definitely good to see.
And um, at the point whenever we had Xavier Johnson and he went down.
I hated to see that because Xavier Johnson, like, that's my brother.
And I wanted to see him do well and I still want him to,
I still wanna see him do well.
But that was honestly like my coming out party because it allowed me
to like have the ball in my hands.
And then from there, I think I pretty much, you know, took off pretty much so.
Clif Marshall: I got one.
I got one for you Sam, because I want you to speak on this.
I remember talking to Fino after he gets drafted and he is out with the
LA Lakers and I'm like, man, what's the difference in the locker room?
What's it like compared to the NBA with your teammates?
And he is like, coach Cliff, man, this is such a business.
It's like, guys are married here, they got kids.
It's like there's not as much team bonding, not as much
time outside of basketball.
It's like, you know, this is more your job and you're not there
necessarily to make friends.
And so Sam, I wanted you to speak to that because you, you experienced that as well.
for the Texas Longhorns and then going on and having a very
successful career in the NFL.
What was that transition like for you, Sam?
Um, figuring that out.
Sam Acho: The transition was hard.
Uh, and the reason why I say it was hard, I think it was twofold.
was the speed of the game, right?
Yes.
The game is faster.
Everyone.
You're not playing against, uh, average people.
You're playing against the best of the best.
I think the harder part for me about the transition was the fact that no
longer did I have all this structure around me that I had in college.
Clif Marshall: Hmm.
Sam Acho: we had, alright, here's when study hall is, here's when classes are,
here's when you work out, here's when, uh, here's where you do, you know, uh,
pre-game lift, all those kinds of things.
And there was almost like, okay, if you do, if you don't do so great, alright,
there's always next week get to the NFL.
It was like, hey, we got 90 guys on the roster and 40 y'all about to get cut
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Yeah.
Sam Acho: about three weeks.
So like, wait, what?
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Yeah.
Clif Marshall: I.
Sam Acho: it was like, it was just, it became like, it was, it made more sense
as to what they mean by it said business.
There's very little leeway.
I remember there was a time, it's not necessarily my early in my career, but
like halfway through my career, year five or so, I just signed with the Chicago
Bears playing outside linebacker and maybe year six playing outside linebacker.
And we were in training camp and I remember, you know, I wasn't
doing so great early on in training camp, but I figured, oh man, I got
a little bit of time trying to get back into my footing, et cetera.
Come to find out, one of the coaches said, my coach was like, Hey, Sam,
they're thinking about switching you to a different position.
I'm like, okay.
I've only and always ever played defensive and outside linebacker on the edge.
They wanted to move me to inside linebacker.
And I'm like, Hey, how much time do I got?
They're like, bro, they probably do.
They're trying to do it tomorrow.
I'm like, wait, what?
So I remember, I remember getting on my knees and praying
like, yes, God, I trust you.
Like whatever you wanna do.
But like, I didn't want to make that move.
Am I not good enough?
What is it?
And so I remember, like when I say Cliff and Fino, every single
rep the next day mattered.
Like for me, imagine like every dribble, every cro, like every
single step, every single rep.
I was like, I'm gonna give it everything I got just 'cause this
might be the last time I ever do it.
I had a pretty good day at practice that day.
Didn't get moved.
Pretty good day at practice the next day didn't get moved, Training
camp ends, I end up cutting other people and I stay in my position,
end up starting and all those things.
So it's just this idea of, man, the, the margin of error is so small.
It's so small and so like, that's been my experience.
But, but I mean, if pheno, I'd ask you as well, one and done by
the Lakers, but you're in the NBA, you're actually getting minutes.
Like what, what is that?
Like, what has, what has this season been like for you?
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Yeah, man, so I can, I, I can talk a lot about this 'cause you
know, obviously my journey has not been.
Since getting to the league has been a smooth, but, um, you know, God,
God has a plan for everybody and everybody has their own, their own
journey and their all their own walk.
So yeah, I mean, going back to that night, getting drafted, like huge blessing.
And, um, I'm still young, but like, it's crazy looking back at like how much growth
I've had from a mental standpoint and how much I mature because I can view,
you know, my rookie year or like even this year and just like, kind of just
look back on and reflect on it, on things that, you know, you, you just learn.
But I think overall, like it was, the transition was very tough
for me for like many reasons.
And I think the main thing was just mental, like the NBA environment or
just professional sports in general.
Like you said, it's a business and when you think about it for, for the
NBA, it's like a, it's 450 players.
It's a, it is a big shark tank with a whole bunch of hungry sharks.
So you gotta think every day and everything you're doing like.
It's your teammates, but like, to an extent, like you're
competing like all the time.
Like you're competing, like you wanna make sure you're the best.
And we all, every player wants to be the whatever.
So I think there's a lot you gotta learn there.
And I think for me, coming in, like you said, I was a 17th pick,
um, big 10 freshman of the year.
I'm coming, coming to the league, honestly, with a lot of confidence.
And um, I'll be honest, like it, it was definitely tough for me because I felt
like as soon as I got drafted by the Lakers, like again, it, it, it's not
like you really gotta go looking for it.
You could open your phone and just see it.
Like, I was honestly getting, like, of course I received a lot of love, but
for me I was seeing a lot of like, oh, like we shouldn't have drafted this guy.
We should have.
So like, mentally I'm just like, all right, cool.
Like y'all saying that I'm gonna show you.
And then I'm also just like, damn, like the city's not like,
not welcoming me to an extent.
So I was having like a little bit of that before Summer League and
then I played in summer league and I, I had some solid, I had some
good games and some growing pains.
Just any young player going through it, um.
So I'm just, all right.
And then mentally, um, I'm in a good spot.
The Summer league, I'm excited, ready to get going.
And then we have training camp, and obviously that's where all
the, all the big dogs get there.
LeBron ad, like all, all, all the big dogs.
And I mean, you could go look at it like training camp.
Like a lot of the guys I know ad spoke on it D low, like I was like,
I was like one of the standouts.
So after the training camp, in my head I'm like, okay, like
I'm playing with the Big Dolls.
I'm showing that I can compete, like I know I can play.
And then we have our first preseason game against Trey Jackson, Davis, the Warriors.
And I didn't have, like, I didn't, I didn't have a great game, honestly.
And I think from that point, like mentally it was just kind
of like, it was tough for sure.
'cause I'm just like, all right, like we set goals for ourselves
sometimes and we set a certain standard and we want it to be like this.
But sometimes in reality it just, it don't always go like that.
And I think at that time, as a young guy, again, I was coming off Indiana.
I.
Was coming off of like that feeling of always being, you know what I'm saying?
And then you kind of go to the league where you really start from the bottom
again, you gotta work your way up and on the court things might not go as well.
And then in like maybe my third or fourth preseason game, I
caught like a, a dumb injury.
It was a rebound.
One of my teammates got the rebound and start pushing it up the floor,
but he like banged knees with me.
And then my knee like hyper extended a little bit.
So that caused me to end up missing, like my first, however many games in the NBA.
So once that happened, it was like mentally I'm just like, all
right, we're starting, we starting off the journey with a injury.
So like, that was like my first kind of, you know, adversity.
I kind of facing the league where mentally I'm just like, all right,
I'm going through an injury.
And then, you know how that is, you gotta ramp up, get the body
right for that, so whatever.
Um, and then here and there I would get minutes.
And then I just think mentally I was just, I was in a tough spot.
I think mentally.
I was just, I think it was a lot of pressure.
I was just mentally going through a lot of different things.
And then obviously you're, you're starting to recognize a lot of off the
court stuff that I'm not gonna go too deep on, but you definitely start to,
you start to see a lot of like people's true colors and kind of just get a,
get a sense of reality around you.
So for me, that was like super, I'm not gonna say heartbreaking, but it
was kind of just like, whoa, like your whole life has really changed.
Like, I was getting told that got advice from different players, but like once it
started to hit me, I started to really see like, okay, like, so yeah, I think
like my first year, um, and a little bit of even like year or two when I was with
the Lakers, like I think my whole journey with, with, with the Lakers, if I could
go back in time, I wouldn't change it.
Well, I take that back.
I wish it could have went differently in terms of like me being healthy and being
able to be on the court and produce.
But in terms of how it played out, I think it gave me everything I needed
from a spiritual standpoint and me like just learning a lot by myself as a man.
It allowed me to mature to.
Understand, like the whole NBA landscape to learn how to really
be a pro on and off the court.
Like I, I've always like been a pro, but like really like
be a pro in terms of like,
I don't know, just like schedule wise, prioritizing, learning how to say
no, like all those types of things.
So I think now, um, getting the opportunity to go to Philly, get a fresh
start, um, I think that was good for me.
Um, being able, being able to get some minutes, um, showcase,
you know, what I can do.
I had some good games and everything.
So for, for me now, I'm definitely looking forward to going into year three
and just, uh, trusting God and just continue to put in the work and, you
know, let, let him lead the way from me.
Clif Marshall: Sam, I gotta tell you, a couple weeks ago I was able to travel
to Miami, Florida and meet up with Fino.
The 76 ERs played, uh, Miami Heat, and we had another player from Indiana that
was actually a rookie for the Miami Heat.
So being able to watch those two guys go head to head was certainly a blessing.
But I went to see FENO at their hotel and let me tell you, the
NBA teams, traveled a little nicer than the NFL teams where they,
bro, where they're
Jalen Hood-Schifino: man.
Clif Marshall: It's completely five star.
The way they're eating is unbelievable.
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Nah, we definitely got a good,
Clif Marshall: yes, obviously.
Got it.
Really good.
So Feno in my office, again, my house, I've got a jersey you sent me, I'm
gonna show it here on the camera.
Jalen Hood-Schifino: yes, sir.
Clif Marshall: that's your Lakers jersey man, which is,
which is really cool to see.
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Yes, sir.
Clif Marshall: you about your first interaction with LeBron James.
Obviously this is a player you've watched growing up,
you're drafted to the LA Lakers.
What was your first interaction like with him when you got to la?
Jalen Hood-Schifino: It was during the, um, probably like August or probably
the end of August in September, um, when you're a young guy, especially
when you get drafted or just you're in those like off season months, you're
definitely gonna be in the facility, uh, doing individual workouts, getting
your lifts in during treatment.
Um, not nothing too serious, but really just in there again, where being around
the facility, working with the coaches.
So it was like one day, um, LeBron's typically, like LeBron's probably always
gonna be the first one in the gym, like getting his recovery or whatnot,
but it was one day we were in there.
I remember I was like going to lift and like he was on the court shooting
with Phil Handy and maybe like Rui, like that was like typically his,
his, uh, his, uh, workout guy and now he, he was working out in there and I
remember we just getting on the court to work out and he was just like.
This is my first time seeing him after getting drafted.
He just said he introduced himself.
He said, what up Jay?
And that was pretty much kind of like the first interaction.
Nothing crazy, but just like a smooth of introduction.
And then from there we just obviously got to go through training camp
and, you know, play together.
Clif Marshall: And, and you've told me a little bit about like,
obviously I, you take care of your
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Hmm.
Clif Marshall: the highest level, I believe.
Um, tell me a little bit about, like, one thing you can learn from
LeBron man is he, he certainly knows how to take care of his body.
What did you see like in his day-to-day approach that way?
Jalen Hood-Schifino: he's literally just like a machine.
Like everything you see on the internet, you see about him taking,
like, he really does that like every day, like his whole day's regimented
from how he takes care of his body.
How, like, how he eats like the time.
Like we can be flying back after a game from wherever.
Like he's, he has his sleep mask on.
He might be getting a massage on the plane.
He's gonna make sure he get his nap in.
Like he's just super.
He's super like, I don't know, he's super locked in and it's like cool.
And to an extent it's almost just like scary how someone is
like, especially he's what year?
21.
He's 40 years old.
It was honestly crazy to see like, just him being, um, obviously at,
at this point I got, this is year two for me, so this is pretty fresh.
So he's obviously at the top of his game, already got all the accolades,
has everything in the world, and he's still like the first one in the gym,
like super locked in every single day.
So for me, being a young guy, like that was a great example to see and definitely
a huge blessing and just be able to, um, be around that type of greatness.
Um, see it on a day-to-day basis and to be able to get, you know,
a, a lot of key information for me to, um, be the best pro I could be,
Clif Marshall: This is really cool because pheno, was with you on draft night, like
Jalen Hood-Schifino: know?
Clif Marshall: you invited me to be in New York with you, you were in the green room.
Like I have trained 400 professional athletes, uh, but I'd never actually
got invited to the draft where somebody was in the green room.
So being a part of that was like so surreal and thank you for that invite.
But I was also with Sam Acho on his draft
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Yeah.
Clif Marshall: in Dallas, Texas at his house.
So the fact that I'm talking to both of you guys right here, I want to
talk specifically about draft night, like the nerves that you feel and
maybe Sam, let me start with you and kind of how you felt going into the
draft and how it played out in Aino.
You as well,
Sam Acho: My draft journey was a little bit different.
I remember at the end of my senior year, you know, we don't get a lot
of one we don not a lot of people wanted done in, in, in, in NFL in
Clif Marshall: right?
Sam Acho: one and done in basketball.
But we, uh, I finished my, I finished my senior year and I had a pretty good
year and so I was told by agents and scouts and everybody that I was gonna be
a kind of a mid round selection, right?
Third, fourth, or fifth.
But if I did well at the senior Bowl, then my draft stock would increase, right?
That's like our all-star game.
If I do well at the combine, my draft stock would increase.
Well, at the pro day, my draft stock would increase.
We'll go to the Senior Bowl.
Vaughn Miller wins.
Uh, MVPI win most outstanding performance, so I'm like, boom, check.
Go to the combine, which cliff you and I have been training
together the entire time.
We go and set a record for the El Cone drill, still standing all time record
for the three cone drill, top 10 and 40, top 10 in the, in the, uh, short shuttle.
So I'm like, boom, check, combine, go to my pro day interviewing coaches.
Boom.
Short.
I played linebacker, check at a Mike Tomlin, a after my pro day was like,
Hey, Acho, are you ready to be a Steeler?
I'm like, man, I'm ready, coach.
Where do I sign up?
Like, I'm like thinking, okay, boom.
Like this is it, you know?
And like, and in N-F-L-N-F-L, like day one is Thursday, right?
Round one, excuse me, is Thursday.
So I had something little set up for round one, but like round
two and three is on Friday.
So all the agents, my agent, the coaches, uh, teams that brought me in, et cetera,
they're like, Hey, the, you're gonna be, you know, second or third round pick.
You've done all those things.
So I'm like, all right, cool.
Round one came, which is Thursday.
Nobody, nobody, uh, I won the first round pick, so I'm cool.
But round, round two and three was when I was 99.99,
nine, 9% sure I was gonna get drafted.
'cause all the teams that told me and my agent and everyone.
And Cliff, you were there.
And round two and three, which is Friday, comes and goes, and I get one call.
I don't wanna throw 'em all the way under the bus.
I ain't gonna lie.
My agent called me at the very last, like when the Patriots were up or Ravens, and
I'm thinking, I'm gonna go be a Raven.
And I'm like, Hey, what's the move?
And he's like, oh, I was, nobody's called me yet.
I was calling to see if you heard anything.
And I'm like, what?
Like I, and I should have fired him right then and there.
I didn't, but lost.
And so, uh, but I had nothing planned for, for Saturday, right?
Thursday had a draft party.
Friday, had nothing for Saturday.
And I remember, cliff, you probably remember this too.
I told everybody, I was like, Hey, y'all, like, I mean, I, I
didn't expect this to happen, but, um, I'm gonna be here tomorrow.
I got nowhere else to go.
And, and I remember going in my room, Fino and being in tears, bro,
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Yeah.
Sam Acho: just devastated.
And I, and because I had, I, I felt like I'd been lied to by everybody.
That was like, part of it.
of it had been lied to, part of it, it felt like.
God, you know, my desire, like, I'm not in it for the money.
I'm not in it for the fame.
I'm not in it for the women.
I'm not in it for all these things.
Like you talk about the fake, like I've seen, like, man, we could go, we could
have another podcast about like, you meet your, you know, people you admire,
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Yeah.
Sam Acho: I said, God, I just wanna make your name famous.
Like, I want to give you glory.
That's why I'm doing it.
Like, what, what, what, what, what happened?
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Mm-hmm.
Sam Acho: I just remember being in tears.
My sister actually came up to the room and was like, Hey, like, God's got you.
Don't worry about it.
And I remember just kind of, she helped console me.
And um, the next day I remember it was my mom, my, my, my dad.
Cliff, you might have showed up early that day too.
I think you were there as well.
And, uh, I think we ordered some food and we were praying for the food.
And as soon as we said Amen, the phone rings and it, we had like
a little caller ID and it said, uh, it said Arizona Cardinals.
And I picked up and they're like, Hey Sam, you know.
We're gonna draft you.
Now, mind you, I don't know how it is in the NBA, but in the NFL, oftentimes
teams will call you and we'll say, Hey, we're gonna pick you with our next pick.
And they don't actually pick you.
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Yeah.
Sam Acho: And so they call and they, Hey, we're gonna pick you.
And I'm like, okay, thanks so much.
I said, and they said, okay, well here's coach, here's coach.
So I'm talking, they finally, they say, Hey, we're gonna hang up.
You know, we're gonna hang up, you know, but we're excited to pick you soon.
I said, Hey, instead of hanging up, can y'all just stay out with me
to make sure that like, y'all pick me while I see, they're like, Sam,
we need to hang up the phone so we can go call Roger Goodell to put
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Right.
Sam Acho: in that you're gonna get drafted.
Right?
So it was an exciting moment for sure, but there was so much
fear, there was doubt, there was frustration, there was confusion,
there was anger, there was sadness.
But it all culminated in joy because I got an opportunity.
And by God's grace, played nine years, four years in Arizona,
four years in Chicago, finished up with Tampa Bay, um, and finished
a a about a decade in the NFL.
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Mm-hmm.
Clif Marshall: Sam, you knew what Shado Sanders was feeling a couple of weeks ago.
Sam Acho: knew
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Yeah.
Sam Acho: I knew what should do was feeling.
I knew what to do was feeling.
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Already knew, man.
Um, no, that's a powerful story though.
And like you said, you, if you look at like where you started from until like
you had a successful 10 year career.
So that's a blessing in itself.
And I think for me it was my mine was a little bit different 'cause
like coming out, I knew like.
Um, pretty much a lot of the mock drafts and even talking to my
agents, like I was like a consensus, like first round pick for sure.
Possibly like lottery, like top, top 20 range.
So I knew like everything we were doing in the, in the process was very strategic.
Like how many workouts I had, the teams I was working out
for, all that type of stuff.
So, um, it was very nerve wracking though, like the draft really, like
the night before, well really since like, whenever I got to New York like
it, it was, it was all hitting me like, all right, like it's about to happen.
I have no clue where I'm about to go, but trust God.
And with that, it was still just a whole bunch of just nerves.
Super anxious, really couldn't sleep.
My mom was just racing.
So fast forward, we get to, um, I.
To the place on draft night, we're going through it all, taking pictures
like you're in the green room.
Like at this point I'm sure everyone knows all right, like it's
really about to happen, it's time.
So that was really my, that was like my whole feeling and throughout the
night just talking to my agent like, alright, like is this team saying this?
Like, what's what's going on?
And for me it was, it was really no really word on like where I was going.
So for me, I'm just at the table, just kind of like just, all right.
And then I'm just seeing teams go down.
Honestly, like for me, like when I started to like pay attention to where
I feel like I could go, honestly it was like around probably like Utah at nine.
Once like Utah was on the clock at nine, that's where I kind of like felt like,
all right, let me start paying attention.
So nine, Utah didn't pick me.
They chose Taylor Hendricks, um, 10, I wanna say that was Cason Wallace.
He got drafted by Dallas and he got traded to OKC for Derrick Lively at 11 or.
10 or whatever.
And then teams was going by.
So at when it got to like, I wanna say 15 Atlanta, and they chose Buffin, I think
that's when my agent started to get like a little, he said, la No, it was once they
drafted Ke George before me or Utah at 16, like before that pick, he was like,
the Lakers are gonna take you at 17.
So I'm just at the table, like,
I'm just froze.
I'm just like, whoa, it's about to happen.
And then on top of that, it's la.
So I'm just like, whoa.
And my favorite player was like Kobe growing up.
Like I was always just looking at his workout videos.
So I'm just like, this is like a full circle moment.
So it just all started to hit me.
And then Rob Pelinka called me and I'm like, all right, like
it's about to be that time.
Then I start seeing the cameras come over and I'm just like, oh man.
So I don't know.
That was like a.
Something you always dream of.
And then like, I I, I tell this every time.
'cause whenever I was going up to like I'm saying hey to everybody giving hugs,
and I'm walking up to the stage like, no exaggeration, like everything went silent.
It was like, I'm walking up there to Adam Silver and like everything I'm thinking
about is just like, like my whole journey.
Like everything I went through, I'm just walking up there just
like, wow, like I'm finally here.
But then obviously once you get drafted it's like, all right, cool.
Now it's like you gotta really start to really put the work in and you
know, you start from the bottom.
So no, the draft experience was definitely cool.
What's crazy is I actually watched last night, I always
watched my highlights or whatnot.
I was watching like me get drafted last night and it
still gave me the same feeling,
Clif Marshall: Wow.
Amazing.
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Yeah.
Clif Marshall: Mike Woodson, your head coach at Indiana,
was right there to hug you.
And, um, man, just that picture was, was beautiful.
And Sam, I gotta share this story, man.
One of my, maybe my favorite game from the eight years I was at Indiana
University with men's basketball as a strength coach, was Jaylen's freshman
year, and it was at Purdue Mackey Arena.
Sam, like, this is our in, in-state rival, our You know, and they've had the number
of Indiana the last few years, right.
But we had already beaten Purdue once that year and they were currently
like number five in the nation.
We were number 17 in the nation.
And Indiana hadn't beat Purdue at Purdue in a very long time.
Well, fast forward, we're at a shoot around right game day, shoot around, and
I'm talking to our team doctor who's been with the program for like 45 years and I
asked him, I respect him so much 'cause he's seen at Indiana since Bobby Knight.
And I said, Dr.
Dr.
Rink was his name.
I said, Dr.
Rink, is Feno a pro?
I said, is Jaylen Hood Shino a pro?
And he said, coach Cliff, I'll tell you after tonight.
So we play right Halftime, FENOs got like 22.
He's cooking.
He ends up, he ends up scoring 35 points on the road at Purdue, and
we end up sweeping the boilermakers.
And I'll never forget after the game, Dr.
Rink coming up to me and saying, cliff, is certainly a pro.
man, man, oh man.
Uh, pheno, what a great performance that was and what a great memory that was.
We've actually got a picture after that game holding a broom because we,
we swept the boilermakers that year.
So that was a, a, a great moment for sure.
Sam Acho: Yeah.
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Man, that was a great time.
I remember that game man, like it was yesterday.
Definitely, definitely was a lot of fun.
I think like even going into that game, like I knew, like the, obviously like
Purdue, Indiana, you already know that's a big, um, something big for the state.
And I knew we had one in there in a while.
I know we beat him at our place, so I'm like, all right,
let's try to get another one.
Especially in there.
And I, you probably got the picture Coach Cliff, like before the game Trace,
like got his arm around me or something.
He's like saying something in my ear.
I remember him telling me like, like, be you tonight.
And I'm like, all right, cool.
And I remember the game starting and like, obviously Trace was like probably like
the best player in college basketball, like, and like stats, all that stuff.
Like he, he was doing it all and he was obviously a big focus every single night.
And I remember they was just taking take, trying to take away a lot of his stuff.
So for me, I'm seeing that I'm just like, all right, now I gotta be aggressive.
And I remember I hit like my first couple shots and I'm just like, all right.
Then on top of that, it probably helped that I couldn't really hear, it was so
loud, I couldn't really hear anything.
So in terms of like hearing Coach Woods on the side call, I
couldn't hear him say anything.
So I was pretty much just running everything on my own.
So it was just like a, it was just a good layout and it was like a good game, man.
I was just happy to get the win, honestly, to beat him two times.
So that was, it was cool.
It was cool.
Clif Marshall: photo of you and Trace Man, right here.
If you could see that.
Man,
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Yeah.
Clif Marshall: a mo, a monumental moment, man.
That was
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Yeah.
Clif Marshall: game and great experience.
And Sam, I know you've had those moments too when you played in
college at Texas, but when you talk about getting in the zone.
Being in that zone, man, Fino was, was certainly in it that night and it was,
it was really, really cool to see.
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Mm-hmm.
Sam Acho: So Fino, I got one more for you and then Cliff's going to close
us off, but I ask every one of our guests this, and I'm gonna ask you,
you've seen a lot.
still young, but you've seen a lot.
How do you win without losing it all?
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Well, I think you win without losing
it all is it starts with you.
I think as a whole, we are the creator of our own reality.
So like you can wake up every day and set an attention and just have an
attitude, or you can set the tone and trust God, talk to God, be positive.
So for me, in my life, like again, the journey hasn't been easy.
It's been a rollercoaster, but that's for everyone.
So for me, I always just try to stay grounded.
And for me, I always use the word gratitude.
Like for every single thing, every person I encounter, every experience I
encounter, like good or bad, like I'm always just grateful to experience that.
I'm thankful that God's.
Presently have me here and wake me up every single day.
So like honestly for me, like whatever I'm going through, I always just stay grounded
and just stay centered and just trust God.
Because again, we are gonna go through so many different things.
Like that's, that's undeniable.
Failure is going to be undeniable, but the, for me, failure is no option.
It's not that you're never gonna fail, it's like you're just never gonna give up.
So, um, I don't know.
I think if you just trust God and you can control yourself, control your attitude,
the way you view things, and just try to be positive, um, I think you'll be fine.
Clif Marshall: Really good Fino.
My last question for you is you talk about faith a lot, you talk about
God a lot, even in today's podcast.
Um.
I, I just wanna know, you've got the God strong, uh, tattoo
across your, your abdomen, right?
You've got like this faith about you.
I want to know who has had the greatest influence on you in your
life when it does come to your faith.
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Man, it's so many different people
and so many different things.
Honestly, like I would say, like my family as a whole, um, I can
even say you like, I don't know.
I've, I've had so many different experiences that's helped me.
Well, yeah, that's, that's helped me honestly like, wanna continue
to strength my relationship with God and then off, like, truthfully
just like experience in my life.
And I think, like I've always considered myself to be a believer.
I've always tried to be righteous in my own way and.
Um, things like that.
But honestly, my rookie year, when I had surgery March 21st, once I had
like that low back surgery, that was like the first time I felt like I
had in a while where I just slowed down and I had time to just reflect.
And like,
Clif Marshall: Hmm.
Jalen Hood-Schifino: it was a lot of different, like, things that
was happening to me from like a spiritual level and like things
that I was starting to like realize.
And I was, I felt like I was just starting to realize a lot of different things.
So I think for me, man, I just view the world and like everything,
like everything's God for, for me.
So I just, I just try to be a good person, do my work while I'm here.
Like, like do God's work.
Just be a good person.
Um, be respectful, be humble, uh, work hard and just try
to do all the right things.
So, um, I know God's, God's, God's proud of me for sure.
Clif Marshall: And I also wanna re, I I want to talk about quickly because
when I did visit you, uh, in Miami a couple weeks ago, you were at the
hotel and I think you told me like, Hey, go to the arena a little early.
I do chapel, you know, before every game.
So in the NBA Sam, it's pretty cool.
Every team offers a game day chapel, and that's the home team.
However, the opposing team is allowed to join that as well.
So, Fino, can you talk about that?
Like what's, what's it like sitting in a, in a game day chapel with a
player that you're about to face off against in a, in probably 60 minutes.
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Yeah.
Um, chapel.
Yeah.
Every, every team has a chapel and it's every game day at 60 minutes on the clock.
And I know it's just like a time for everyone to kind of, obviously you about
to go head to head compete against these guys with the opposite team, but it's
like a second for you to just connect with, you know, God and kind of take
that time to make space for each other.
And honestly, chapel, that's one of my favorite things about
my pre-game routine 'cause.
You know, you're lifting, doing treatment on the court, but it allows
you to relax and just remember like why, why you're in this position.
Like, God has blessed everyone in that room to be in their position
and to be on their own walking life.
So, um, no, it's definitely cool to be able to, uh, share that time
with everyone and to, um, talk, talk about the gospel and, you
know, being spirit with each other
Sam Acho: Yeah.
Clif Marshall: You're great and uh, go ahead.
Sam Acho: if we could share one more thing.
Uh, failure is no option
Jalen Hood-Schifino: so there's no option.
Sam Acho: where tell us about your brand, but also why that matters to you so much.
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Yep.
When I was, um, in ninth grade or eighth, yeah.
Ninth grade when I got invited to the USA basketball camp, in the email they said,
bring something that's very, um, that like represents you or something that is.
Meaningful to you.
And I was just like trying to brainstorm and just try to think of
like, what can I do that's something that represents me or something
that I could bring that's valuable.
And my mom had came up with, um, I wanna say she had just said,
why don't you, why don't we get a T-shirt that says pheno a failure?
There's no option.
And I'm just like, oh, wow.
So I remember like originally, like we just had, we bought like a regular white
tea, probably just like a Hanes White tea.
And I think she had like, I, this might be extreme, I don't know.
She either like went and bought like the letters or whatever.
She might have either ironed it on or she got got it put on.
Like FENO is an option.
I took it, whatever.
I think from there, that's kind of just been our thing.
And my mom even started, um, our family thing.
It's called the, the FENO project.
And it's something that we're gonna continue to elevate.
But we've done camps in Pittsburgh for the kids.
Um, did a camp in Hawaii last year.
Um, it's just like something we wanna do to try to give back, and
it's just, uh, it's, it's a mindset that's going back to like, just life.
And it doesn't have to be for sports.
It's like, so you're, everyone's gonna go through some type of failures.
Some of the most successful people in our life has have failed to
get to the point they're at.
So it's like, how do they get there, but keep going.
So I think it's just, again, it's about mindset, being positive and
just always knowing that in this life, again, you're gonna fail.
You are gonna go through many ups and downs, but if you just keep going,
you keep putting in the work, you keep trusting God, you'll be able to achieve
the things that you want to achieve.
Sam Acho: Hmm.
So then with that, what's next?
Right?
NBA season's over, uh, what, what's next for, for Jalen Hood-Schifino
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Man, a lot, a lot of work, like I'm very low
maintenance, very out the way.
Um, a big family guy.
So for me right now, it's just been.
A lot of work.
Um, and seeing my family, like right now I'm in, in la I'm working out with, um,
one of my guys, his name is Sean Marshall.
Um, been working out with him, but I'll do a little bit of bouncing around.
I'll go back to Pittsburgh, see my family for a little bit, work out
there, go to Charlotte, work out there.
Um, and then eventually, you know, Philly or wherever the next, uh,
destination is for me, I, I'll be there.
So right now it's just a lot of work and honestly just spending a, a lot
of time with family and friends.
Clif Marshall: Fino, I may, um, have to bring Sam out to Vegas, man, if you're out
there for the summer league at all this
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Yep.
Clif Marshall: we need to take a trip out there in July, man, and check out these,
uh, these NBA players that I was blessed to train, uh, during my time at iu.
Maybe we'll
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Yep.
Clif Marshall: podcasts.
Maybe we can link up with you out there if pheno.
Jalen Hood-Schifino: Law for sure.
Man.
I love to, love to make that happen.
I definitely enjoy my time today just talking and just, you know, getting a,
getting a vibe with you guys for sure.
Sam Acho: No, definitely.
We appreciate it.
Well, FENO, thank you so much for joining the Sam Macho Podcast,
featuring Cliff Marshall.
And thank y'all all so much.
For listening, go to sam macho.com.
We'll have all the info about the podcast.
Also, you can find out about what Jaylen's been up to and also about the brand.
Feno failure is no option.
We'll see y'all next time.