Kansas Jayhawks basketball’s secret edge? This trainer — and a church gym near KU
Kansas basketball player Jalen Wilson caught the pass in a church gym, putting himself in the exact location he was instructed a few seconds earlier.
“No. 1 J-Will shooting spot,” a man wearing red and blue Jayhawks shorts told him then, pointing toward the floor with a smile.
Wilson, positioned a few steps away from the corner, rose in his shooting motion before a practice defender could reach him.
Twenty-four hours later, Wilson stood in a familiar place — The J-Will Spot — though this time it was in front of 16,300 fans at Allen Fieldhouse rather than his audience of five from the previous night.
He accepted a pass from teammate Dajuan Harris, then repeated his shooting motion from the now-recognizable starting point.
Swish.
Wilson would hit two more threes in this game on his way to 17 points in KU’s 102-83 victory over Kansas State.
“It shows work, it’s definitely gonna pay off on the court,” he would say afterward. “Every shot I shoot in workouts are game shots.”
Four-thousand feet across the street, Wilson rediscovered the shot he’d once lost.
And on the second floor of a church building, a 30-year-old Ukrainian trainer with red-and-blue Jayhawks shorts — and more than 1 million followers on TikTok — is the catalyst.
Here, Peter Danyliv has turned his rented space — it occasionally doubles as a site for the church’s blood drive — into his own modern basketball lab. Recovery leg compression sleeves hang from the far wall, while separate carts hold music speakers and jugs for a Gatorade refueling station. Center court features four racks with more than 60 basketballs, including this year’s official NCAA ball and the one that will be used next season ... just in case players want to get a head start.
If Allen Fieldhouse is where college basketball is celebrated, then Lawrence’s Immanuel Lutheran Church is where Wilson is putting in his devotion.
Away from his primary responsibilities with the KU men’s basketball team and its coaches, Wilson has joined many other Jayhawks in taking on this extra commitment, attempting to turn free time into increased production.
At 8:30 on this Monday night — and an hour before KU’s late-night film session — Wilson is getting additional shooting reps, with beats from his favorite musician Future and Danyliv’s bursts of instruction serving as the backdrop.
Six weeks earlier, Wilson had started the season making just 2 of 23 three-pointers — with his 9% accuracy at one point tying for the worst mark among Division I shooters.
Wilson decided then: He needed to go back to work with Danyliv that week. There was no more time to wait.
The next game, at Texas Tech, he scored a season-high 20 points while going 3-for-5 from three.
Asked if his sessions with Danyliv had correlated with his late-season resurgence, Wilson said, “Directly.”
(Graphic courtesy @JGTrends)
“It’s really just a blessing to have somebody that wants to work with you,” Wilson said. “A lot of people wouldn’t want to put the time in like that, but he’s always available.”
Many others from KU’s program are benefiting as well. That includes more than half the current roster — including Christian Braun and Joseph Yesufu — along with McDonald’s All-American signee Gradey Dick and current pros Marcus Garrett and Udoka Azubuike.
They’ve discovered that their persistence, combined with Danyliv’s proficiency and distinctive training methods, is producing results.
Along with developments that likely wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.
How ‘90/10’ began
As the basketballs dispersed across the parking lot at Rock Chalk Park, Danyliv made the final decision in his mind: He was going to give up basketball training for good.
This wasn’t worth it. After Danyliv had previously set up at a local gym that had closed its doors, he was forced to rent out a half-court section of Lawrence’s public rec center.
That meant no privacy. No control of the setting. And also the undertaking of bringing in all his equipment each session.
So when his basketball bag broke on the way in — scattering basketballs underneath cars — Danyliv began to think about new career paths while crawling on his knees to retrieve his belongings.
“Honestly,” Danyliv said, “it was probably the worst time of my life.”
The most frustrating part? His training business — the one he’d established by chance — had started with a promising outset.
Danyliv — born in Kyiv, Ukraine (he’s recently helped some family members relocate to a safer part of country following the Russian invasion) — originally came to the United States at age 15 to pursue basketball with Westlake Prep in Florida. His senior year, however, he woke up with extreme knee soreness, with an MRI showing he had almost no cartilage in either knee — the pain coming from his bones grinding against each other.
Microfracture surgery didn’t help, so instead of accepting a lower-level Division I scholarship offer, Danyliv went to a junior college in Oklahoma. Unfortunately, additional therapy was ineffective too — along with another surgery — so after one season, he moved on to Ottawa University in Kansas to become a student-assistant coach at the NAIA level.
Danyliv headed personal training sessions with players on the team to show his appreciation. Shortly after, a university worker approached Danyliv (pronounced DAN-uh-liv), offering him $10 an hour to instruct his son for 90-minute sessions.
The side gig grew from there. Friends told friends about Danyliv’s workouts, and soon, he was overseeing around 50 children weekly in an Ottawa church gym that gave him free access.
When the church shut down, though, Danyliv struggled to keep his business afloat at Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence. He checked Google every day for a potential new gym and even searched for warehouse space, with those locations too often having ceilings that were too short or poles positioned in the middle that would be in the way.
Just as he was about to give up hope — while starting to think about pursuing graduate-assistant coaching opportunities — a friend told him about the church he attended in Lawrence. The gym mainly seemed unoccupied, and its location was only a few steps away from KU’s campus.
Danyliv couldn’t believe it when he walked through. The gym had heating and air conditioning, a lounge space for parents, a kitchen, and a rent proposal within budget.
“For us, we were right across the street from Allen Fieldhouse. ‘We’re going to get this space right now?’” Danyliv said with a laugh. “Yeah, it was amazing.”
That agreement only furthered the growth of Danyliv’s company “90/10 Training” — a reference to his belief that players must do 90% of the work on their own, with the additional 10% improvement coming from Danyliv’s expertise and tools.
Nearly 500 kids took part in training sessions at 90/10 over the summer, but lately, Danyliv also has taken on higher-profile assignments too.
Detroit Pistons player Luka Garza traveled to Lawrence during February’s NBA All-Star Weekend. And players from all around the Big 12 — including Oklahoma guard Elijah Harkless, Baylor’s Kendall Brown and Kansas State’s Markquis Nowell — have worked under his watch in the summer.
Perhaps the most notable transformations have come from KU’s roster, with players taking advantage of their proximity to Danyliv’s facility.
And specifically, one Jayhawk with a chance to profit off that in the millions.
A Christian transition
Christian Braun’s first session at Immanuel Lutheran Church went an hour ... and he never even picked up a basketball.
This was late April last year, and the Kansas basketball junior-to-be’s first conference with Danyliv took place in front of a Westinghouse television mounted on the gym’s wall.
Danyliv had his notes ready, fresh from 24 hours of study on Braun’s game; he analyzed KU film and reached out to KU coach Bill Self and assistant Norm Roberts to ensure the training wouldn’t contradict previous teachings.
Over the next 60 minutes, Danyliv told Braun what he believed were the improvements needed to make the NBA.
Danyliv then rolled the tape. He showed times when Braun’s three-point release was too slow, and when his inability to drive right hampered him. He highlighted that Braun had issues scoring off two feet in traffic, and displayed instances when his hesitancy in transition kept him from scoring.
Braun agreed with the assessment, saying he was ready to get going that summer.
For the next four months — from May to August — Braun spent four days a week with Danyliv, working out for 90-minute morning sessions while frequently joining teammate Wilson at the gym.
Danyliv established Braun’s own shooting spot the first day. He noted with KU’s offensive setup, an overwhelming majority of Braun’s opportunities came from the right wing, so he fed Braun there with every possible action — dribble hand-off, ice ball-screen coverage, drive-and-kick pass on the wing — to simulate the attempts Braun would see most.
It set up the training regimen for the rest of their time together. Danyliv — along with his interns, who serve as defenders and passers — provided the specific prescription for Braun’s game, focusing only on the shots he needs in games and repping them constantly. Danyliv says the goal of each outing with players is to give them the “most realistic feel that they can possibly find outside the real game.”
And Danyliv couldn’t help but notice the progression with Braun a few months later.
When watching KU games, Danyliv saw Braun using his new two-point moves instantly. It became so evident that Danyliv started looking in his video files from the summer to see if any of Braun’s actions matched up directly with his game tape.
Danyliv was taken aback when he spliced the two together, seeing the before and after as “literally copy and paste stuff.”
He then posted the video to prove it.
On Dec. 14, Danyliv posted a minute-long clip to Instagram, showing Braun working in his gym then repeating the same motion in KU contests. An example was Braun’s go-to move on the second highlight: a “hand-switch” where the ball goes left hand to the right, but Braun instead moves from right to left in transition for a score.
Braun spoke early in the year about wanting to prove he was more than a spot-up shooter, and he has certainly accomplished that. After making 44% of his twos on 140 combined attempts his first two seasons, Braun is up to 57% in 2021-22 while increasing his usage to 227 shots inside.
(Graphic courtesy @JGTrends)
NBA teams have taken note, as Braun has quickly shot up draft boards with his revamped arsenal. ESPN’s latest mock draft has Braun as the 32nd pick in 2022, while The Athletic is nearly as bullish, slotting him at 39th.
“I think what CB shows now,” Danyliv said, “is just the beginning of what he can really be.”
And if his turnaround is any indication, it’s just the beginning of benefits KU might see from having Danyliv by campus.
That is, of course, if he decides to stick around.
‘Where’s it gonna go next year?’
Six-foot-7 guard Gradey Dick took the dribble hand-off, then came around a screen before putting up a shot.
“Run off that, G!” Danyliv yelled, ensuring his pupil was giving full effort.
It’s a Monday in late February and Dick — Rivals’ 10th-ranked recruit and future Jayhawk — is here in Lawrence to get in extra work during his senior-year campaign at Wichita Sunrise.
His mid-afternoon workout illustrates not only why he’s continued to train with Danyliv for three years — but also why others his age are drawn to it as well.
As workouts go on, Danyliv is the ultimate multi-tasker. He’ll fire on-point passes across the lane to players on one shot, then grab his phone to document their follow-through on the next.
At 30, Danyliv’s also young enough to relate. When Dick goes through a rough shooting stretch, Danyliv grabs his phone to change the music on the Bluetooth speakers. A few seconds later, Dick nods along to his favorite song, while urging Danyliv to turn it up as he hums along.
It’s this type of relationship that earns Danyliv credibility. He’s buddies with the guys — during breaks talking about non-fungible tokens or the latest sneaker trends — and has gained their respect to push them when required.
He also has a feel for what’s needed. So when Dick starts to get frustrated with a few misses, Danyliv reassures, “You’re good,” to refocus him.
Later, though, Danyliv isn’t afraid to challenge him, barking, “Can we get up a good rep?” from across the gym.
Dick says he wouldn’t have it any other way. He’s worked with Danyliv since ninth grade, when he tagged along with two of his AAU teammates to a workout in Wichita.
He was sold from the beginning. Dick said he’d already known about Danyliv from social media, but going through drills with him only reinforced that the man knew basketball.
“The moves are intriguing,” Dick said. “So, I just wanted to learn from that.”
Like Braun, Dick certainly seems to have profited from Danyliv’s tutelage.
Dick has advanced from the 30s of Rivals’ recruiting rankings all the way up to No. 10. He’s had a similar rise in ESPN’s ratings, going from 25th earlier this season to his current spot at eighth.
He credits Danyliv for teaching him “NBA moves,” including his Eurostep, two-dribble pull-up and spin move featured in a separate Instagram video posted by 90/10 Training a few months back.
“He’s just brought my game to a whole other level,” Dick said. “ ... To have him literally in the backyard when I come to school here, it’s just a big advantage for me.”
It potentially will be for other Jayhawks as well.
That includes KU combo guard Joseph Yesufu, one of Danyliv’s most frequent visitors. And also Jalen Wilson, whose training over the last two summers led him to try in-season workouts this year once his campaign started so poorly.
“He’s one of the most humble guys I know as well. He’s one of my closest guys,” Wilson said of Danyliv. “Anytime I want to get in the gym, he’s there for me.”
Whether Danyliv will remain in Lawrence for the foreseeable future remains an unknown.
Though he, head assistant trainer Keifer Puyear and communications specialist Ashley Beets enjoy work with college athletes, that’s not their primary source of income with 90/10. Instead, roughly half of their money comes off the court, whether that’s social media payments from TikTok or Instagram or sponsorships they’ve agreed to because of their reach.
It makes for an unexpected celebrity dynamic between the two parties. KU basketball players are megastars in Lawrence, but in actuality, Danyliv’s 330,000 Instagram followers on 90/10 Training are more than all of the Jayhawks on this year’s roster combined.
Danyliv admits building that type of brand in Lawrence is “basically unheard of.” Most training facilities like his operate in big markets like Los Angeles or New York, and while many pros have inquired about his services, most lose interest when he tells them his location.
“Nobody wants to spend their offseason in Lawrence, Kansas,” Danyliv said, “and that’s like the biggest downfall to here.”
Danyliv said the bigger vision was always to leave the state at some point for a larger city. Maybe that’ll still happen. Perhaps it won’t.
For now, though, he remains a stone’s throw from campus, serving as DJ and motivator and basketball guru for the majority of a KU roster that’s in contention for a No. 1 seed.
He’s helped some rediscover themselves, and at least one to potential millions. He’s worked with a few on inside moves, and others to find comfort from the perimeter.
“Where’s it gonna go next year? I don’t know,” Danyliv said. “I hope it’s not gonna be just nine (KU) guys. I hope it’s 14 guys here — all the scholarship players here — next summer.”
Wilson understands the benefits as much as anyone while continuing to reap the rewards of his work.
On Saturday, at Allen Fieldhouse against Texas, Wilson accepted a pass from teammate Dajuan Harris, then repeated his shooting motion from a now-recognizable starting point.
It was his final three-pointer of the regular season.
A few steps away from the corner.
This story was originally published March 10, 2022 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Kansas Jayhawks basketball’s secret edge? This trainer — and a church gym near KU."
