Temple ushers in the Adam Fisher era with an introductory press conference

One week after agreeing to become Temple’s new head men’s basketball coach, Adam Fisher was introduced in an official press conference.

After more than 15 years as a student and graduate manager, director of basketball operations, director of player personnel, assistant coach, and associate head coach, Fisher now begins his first season as the head coach of a Division I program.

“I was looking for a good person,” said Temple vice president and athletic director Arthur Johnson. “A good person to make sure [the players] go to class and make sure we follow the rules and then make sure we graduate. … I wanted a proven evaluator, a great recruiter, and a developer of talent on and off the court. And I wanted high energy. As I talked to people in different settings and different areas, Adam’s name kept coming up. As I did a little bit more research, we were compelled and then the search committee actually did a great interview.”

In a breakout session with reporters, Fisher said he feels confident about Temple’s NIL standing and the support he’ll have from collectives like the TUFF Fund, who have received many calls about donations since Fisher’s hiring.

He also alluded to the success that the American Athletic Conference is bringing after Charlotte won this year’s College Basketball Invitational, North Texas defeated Alabama-Birmingham in the NIT championship, and Florida Atlantic made it to the Final Four.

Fisher believes the AAC’s success will make it easier to recruit at Temple as players want to face top talent.

“Let’s go,” said Fisher, who was associate head coach at Penn State after serving as an assistant coach at the University of Miami. “I love having great teams come into our league. I’ve been a part of some unbelievable leagues. We’ve gone to the ACC to go play at Duke, and I’ve won there. We go play at Carolina, I’ve been able to win there. The Big Ten, we went on the road and won there. So I’m ready for these teams.”

Temple’s search committee, which included former head coach Aaron McKie’s director of player development Jason Ivey, were not the only people with deciding influence over Fisher’s hiring. McKie himself, Temple’s 10th all-time leading scorer who spent nine years as an assistant and head coach at Temple, moved into a special advisory role at Temple when he stepped down as head coach on March 13.

Fisher even retained McKie’s top assistant during his four years as Temple’s head coach, Chris Clark. This will be Clark’s third head coach. He was an assistant on both McKie and Fran Dunphy’s staffs.

In those years, Clark was competing with Fisher and Huger for recruits. Now, they’re on the same team, looking to keep Philly players at home.

“We’re going to try to keep as many guys in the area,” Clark said. “That’s the goal. But like [Fisher] said, we’re a national brand. … I did that while I was here. A lot of my guys that I got were from outside of the area — Damian Dunn in particular. So I think we can recruit Atlanta, I think we can recruit North Carolina, D.C. So we’ve got to make sure we take care of our backyard but we can recruit other areas in the country.”

“I’m looking forward to continuing to work with [McKie] as he works in his role as a special advisor,” Johnson said. “He’ll be around. He was involved and helped with this process as I vetted coaches. He’s been out on the road, he’s been recruiting.”

At Miami, Fisher recruited local high school stars Wooga Poplar and Isaiah Wong. Miami head coach Jim Larranãga, whose team just reached the Final Four, called Johnson before the Hurricanes’ Elite Eight matchup against Texas.

Johnson said Larranaga’s willingness to reach out as his team prepared for a deep NCAA Tournament run spoke volumes to him.

Since accepting the Temple job, Fisher has been filling out his coaching staff and recruiting players in the transfer portal, including members of this year’s Owls squad. As first reported by OwlScoop.com, Fisher has hired Albany assistant Bobby Jordan and former Miami assistant and Bowling Green head coach Michael Huger.

» READ MORE: Former Bowling Green head coach Michael Huger joins Adam Fisher’s staff at Temple

“When [Fisher] came into the business of coaching, I was able to help him with that opportunity,” Huger said. “Just a lot of fun to help him get this thing started, get it rolling, and put Temple basketball back where it belongs.”

In terms of familiarity and continuity between the coaching staff, Huger was once recruited by Hall of Fame Temple coach John Chaney as a high school basketball player in New York City, something that enticed him to join Fisher’s staff. Jordan and Clark’s familiarity comes from their high school days. Clark played at Saint Joseph’s Prep while Jordan played at rival Roman Catholic.

Fisher hosted a team workout Tuesday with his players, including some that are in the transfer portal. He says they’re part of his program until they tell him otherwise.

Though sophomores Khalif Battle, Damian Dunn, and Jamille Reynolds most likely will not return to Temple, he and his staff, according to a number of sources, have a high possibility of retaining sophomores Zach Hicks and Hysier Miller.

» READ MORE: Damian Dunn, Zach Hicks the latest Temple players to enter the NCAA transfer portal

Hicks told The Inquirer he will decide on his future after he completes visits with DePaul, Saint John’s, and Texas-El Paso, and Miller will make a decision soon after.

Temple will also host Penn State guard and Fisher recruit Jameel Brown for a visit this weekend. The former four-star recruit out of Westtown and the Haverford School played 65 total minutes for the Nittany Lions this season.

In attendance at Fisher’s introduction was West Catholic forward Zion Stanford, Temple’s only incoming freshman in 2023-24. Almost three weeks since McKie’s resignation, Stanford remains committed to Temple and will not ask out of his letter of intent.

“He’s a Philly guy. He loves Temple,” Clark said. “And that’s what we need, that’s what he needs. People who just love Temple and they want to be here, they want to put on that uniform.”

The Owls’ staff has reached out to his teammate, point guard Budd Clark, since his decommitment from Coppin State after the Eagles fired head coach Juan Dixon last month.