Temple coach Adam Fisher addresses reporters at American Athletic Conference media day earlier this month. (Photo: Temple Athletics/Robin Hsiao)
By AARON BRACY
October 29, 2024
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Adam Fisher came to Temple with a reputation as a strong recruiter. And in his short time on North Broad Street since being hired as Owls coach on March 29, 2023, Fisher has delivered.
He pieced together a roster in his first season, bringing in impact transfers Steve Settle III (Howard) and Matteo Picarelli (UMBC). The Owls got better as 2023-24 went on, surprisingly reaching the American Athletic Conference tournament championship game as an No. 11 seed after winning four games in four days, taking down No. 6 SMU, No. 3 Charlotte, and No. 2 FAU along the way.
Fisher and his staff continued the momentum after the season, making a splash in the transfer portal by signing five talented players, headlined by Jamal Mashburn Jr. (New Mexico). Also joining Temple this season are Jameel Brown (Penn State), Elijah Gray (Fordham), Lynn Greer III (Saint Joseph’s), and Mohamed Keita (Tulsa). In addition, Fisher already has received verbal commitments Cam Wallace, a highly touted 6-foot-5 guard out of Westtown School, and four-star recruit Cam Miles, a 6-2 guard from IMG Academy in Florida, for 2025-26.
The AAC coaches and media have noticed the Owls’ talent transformation and picked Temple sixth of 13 teams in the conference’s preseason poll, which is a big jump from last season when they were predicted to finish 12th of 14 teams. So, what exactly is the key to Fisher’s success in recruiting?
Listen and Be Honest
For starters, every member of the Owls staff is involved in every player Temple recruits. There is not a certain coach earmarked to a certain player. They all show love equally to everyone. Secondly, Fisher and his staff open their ears to the players.
“What makes a great recruiter is you have to be a great listener,” Fisher recently told Big5Hoops.com. “Kids will give you the answer to the test if you just listen to what they’re looking for, whether it’s academics, your style of play, what it’s like to live in the city versus not a city. They’ll tell you early on.”
From that point, if the interest remains, it’s all about honesty, Fisher said.
“You have to be honest; you have to be who you are in recruiting,” he said. “Don’t tell kids what they want to hear. Tell kids what they need to hear. And it’s going to help you and hurt you. That’s been my approach.”
Fisher is quick to credit his staff of assistants and support personnel with any recruiting success. In fact, associate head coach Michael Huger’s relationship with Mashburn’s father, Jamal Mashburn, the former longtime NBA player and No. 4 overall pick in the 1993 draft, was a huge reason why Mashburn Jr. landed on North Broad Street. He also heaps praise on the many mentors on his coaching path, particularly Jim Larrañaga, the head coach at the University of Miami, where Fisher served as an assistant.
“I’ve been lucky to work for some amazing bosses,” said Fisher, who also had a stint at Villanova under Jay Wright. “It’s a team effort. It’s all of us as a team.”
Piecing It Together
The talent level clearly has gotten better, and now Fisher is set on improving Temple’s level of play. Once a practical lock to participate in the NCAA tournament yearly, the Owls have reached March Madness just twice in the last 10 tournaments. It would be a stretch to think Temple will make the Big Dance this season, but the Owls certainly will be expected to be better than a season ago when they went 16-20 overall and 5-13 in the AAC in Fisher’s first season.
“We’ve pieced it together like a puzzle,” Fisher said of the roster. “My staff did an amazing job of helping to identify needs. We needed to improve our rebounding and get some size in our program. We wanted to add some shooting and add some older guys that have been successful in college, guys who can score, who have been in winning programs.”
Newcomer Snapshots
Here’s Fisher’s snapshot reaction to Temple’s newcomers, including freshmen Dillon Battie, Aiden Tobiason, and Babtunde Durodola.
–Brown, 6-4, JR, G: “Philly kid. Can really shoot the ball. He’s done it at a high level. Experienced. Knows me, knows what we’re trying to do. Comes from a great family.”
–Gray, 6-8, JR, F: “Give us size. Big guy who is skilled. He can play inside. Can score inside and outside. His versatility and size was big for us (in recruitment).”
–Mashburn Jr., 6-2, GR, G: “He can score the ball. Scorer. Leader. Been a great addition to our family.”
–Keita, 7-1, JR, C: “Seven feet. You cannot teach that. Great young man. Super, super smart. Can protect the rim and moves really well.”
–Battie, 6-8, FR, F: “Understands the tradition. Competes. Plays at a high level. Incredible athlete. Rebounds out of his area. Can really guard. Gives us athleticism and versatility that we needed.”
–Tobiason, 6-5, FR, G: “High IQ. Can really shoot the basketball. Learning the game. Plays so hard.”
–Durodola, 6-8, FR, F: “What a personality. Skilled.”
(Author’s note: I didn’t ask Fisher about Greer because I’ve seen him play so much. My take on Greer: Tough. Experienced. Can get to the basket and set up teammates. Defends. … Update: Greer will sit out the first nine games after being suspended due to violations that occurred while attending his previous institution, according to a press release.)
Returner Snapshots
Fisher also made it a point during our interview to call out the Owls’ returning players, including Settle, Picarelli, Zion Stanford, Quante Berry, and Shane Dezonie. Temple lost its three leading scorers, Hysier Miller (15.9 ppg; transferred to Virginia Tech), Jordan Riley (11.9 ppg, 6.0 rpg; transferred to East Carolina), and Jahlil White (10.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg; transferred to La Salle), in the transfer portal.
“I’m so grateful for the guys who returned,” Fisher said. “Make sure we give thanks to those guys and applaud the guys who stay.”
Here’s what Fisher had to say on each of the returnees:
–Berry: “I thought he had a great summer. He made great steps.”
–Dezonie: “He probably learned the best of what it takes to get on the floor from me. He realized the value I put on practice, and he got better and better and became a real leader for us.”
–Picarelli: “His body looks great. He really worked on that all offseason. He had an adjustment. Everybody knows there’s going to be one word on the scouting report next to his name: shooter. So, you’ve got to be able to get shots off still knowing everybody knows that. You have to expand your game. He spent a lot time with Khalif Wyatt to increase his game. It’s runners in the lane, the shot fake, pull-up 3’s. His layup package improved.”
–Settle: “He earned the respect from coaches and teammates. His leadership is crucial. And he’s a guy who just makes plays. The dude just steps up. He just steps up for you. He’s an unbelievable ambassador for his program. He’s going to be successful in life.”
–Stanford: “He can score the ball. We all know that. Defend and rebound. That’s still the message for him. Another guy who transformed his body.”
Play Hard and Together
During preseason practices, Fisher brought the Owls into a video session to watch the postgame press conferences of opposing coaches during last spring’s AAC tournament. There was a clear message that came across loudly.
“Hey man, this team played hard, they were really together, there was bench energy,” Fisher said.
That’s Temple’s M.O. heading into this season.
“So, we’re building on that,” Fisher said. “We have to be the most together team, we have to play really hard, we have to compete for a full forty minutes, or however long it takes, and we also have to have fun. That’s something we want to carry over.”
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Aaron Bracy has been covering Philadelphia sports since 1996. His byline regularly appears on Associated Press stories. Follow Bracy on X: @Aaron_Bracy and like his Facebook and Instagram pages. His book on the 2003-04 Saint Joseph’s men’s basketball team is expected to be published on March 1, 2025. Read a summary and preorder it by clicking HERE. Contact him at aaron@big5hoops.com.