What impact will Adam Fisher have at Temple? Get to know the Owls’ new men’s basketball coach.

Former Penn State head coach Micah Shrewsberry, who recently took over at Notre Dame, could not hold back his excitement when Adam Fisher called him on Thursday afternoon.

Fisher, previously Penn State’s associate head coach, phoned his former boss with news that he was Temple’s next men’s head basketball coach.

“I was yelling in my house because I know the work that’s gone into this,” Shrewsberry told The Inquirer. “I know the work he’s done to put himself in this position. So I am glad he is able to realize his dreams. I am so excited to see what’s next for him, what he is going to be able to do with this program.”

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Fisher helped deliver back-to-back top-30 recruiting classes for the first time in Penn State history, and Shrewsberry described him as a relationship-builder.

He has a track record to back that up. When he was at the University of Miami under Jim Larranaga, Fisher recruited local high school stars Wooga Poplar and Isaiah Wong, who recently served as key cogs in the Hurricanes’ Final Four appearance.

Poplar committed to Miami before his junior season. His father, Hisine, remembers how Fisher earned his son’s trust.

“He doesn’t sugarcoat or nothing,” Hisine Poplar said. “He is 100 percent as it is… He don’t lie to you to try to get you to [commit to] the school. He tells you what it is. That’s how he gets his kids.”

Hisine Poplar believes Fisher is a successful recruiter because he cares about his recruits and their families. Fisher spoke to Wooga Poplar every day during his recruiting process, and those conversations were not always about basketball. Hisine Poplar said his son and Fisher became “buddies.”

“He texted me and his mom one night, ‘I am going to Miami,’” Hisine said about Wooga’s decision. “We thought he was just going there for a trip or something, but he was like, ‘No, I am going to Miami.’ We asked him what made him [decide], he said the relationship [that] he had with Fisher.”

Wooga was not the only family member who built a strong connection with Fisher. His father spoke to “Fish” four to five times a week about life and family.

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Fisher has recruited other local standouts. Lonnie Walker IV, now a Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard and former Miami standout, was a five-star recruit out of Reading High School.

Fisher impressed Reading High coach Rick Perez when Fisher first arrived to watch Walker practice.

“It was a blessing when he was in the gym,” Perez said. “Many coaches come in and you have to accommodate them, you never had to accommodate Coach [Fisher]. He was a true part of the family, no matter where he went.”

Fisher went to yoga sessions with Walker and developed a strong relationship with his parents. Although he was only recruiting Walker, Fisher supported each individual player on Perez’s team.

Perez admires his genuine approach to recruiting.

“He’s just a guardian of the game,” Perez said. “There are not many [coaches] left like Adam Fisher, so anywhere he could help us he would.”

As Shrewsberry remembers it, Fisher struck a perfect balance. He was quick to crack jokes at practices to keep players loose, but he also held them accountable. Fisher also stayed after practice with players for extra workouts or off-court occasions.

“He has guys over to his house all the time for dinner to spend time with him and his family,” Shrewsberry said. “When you are on a college campus [and] you are away from your family, those are [the] things that are very important. You make promises that you’re going to take care of their kids and that’s what Fish does.”

Fisher never overloaded his players with too much information, which allowed them to make plays without hesitation. Shrewsberry credited him for contributing to the development of Penn State guard Camren Wynter, a transfer from Drexel who scored 8.9 points per game this season.

“He’s got a mind where he wants to learn more and constantly seek ways to try to be better,” Shrewsberry said. “Getting a chance to be around him and work with him everyday, I saw those things.”

Eight years ago, Philly Pride AAU coach Brandon Williams worked a “punch the clock” job.

Williams, who had only a 45-minute lunch break, met Fisher at a Panera Bread to talk about two of his players.

“[College coaches] kind of offer you up and you can leave the conversation feeling, ‘All right, what business I got to digest as truth and how much of it is going to be [expletive],’” Williams said. “After leaving that conversation with Fisher at the meeting, everything he said I felt was genuine. I felt like the two guys that he was looking at, that I was coaching at the time, were in good hands if they decided to go play for him.”

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Fisher has a proven track record with local AAU and high school coaches, which could influence how Philly recruits look at Temple. Fisher might be able to fix the Owls’ recent struggles.

“Honestly, over the last few years, that’s one of the things that has been lacking at Temple,” Math, Civics, and Sciences Charter coach Lonnie Diggs said. “I think he instantly brings that back, definitely some of the kids will be able to relate to him and want to stay home. Temple is a great place.”

Temple will have some work to do with its roster currently depleted after six players entered the NCAA transfer portal. West Catholic standout Zion Stanford is the only player committed to the 2023 class.

“I think he’s going to have success … ” Shrewsberry said. “He’s going to bring big-time energy ... His guys will feed off that. I think they are going to play with great energy, and that’s what you need when you might be an undermanned team. When you might not have as much talent as everybody else, you need to be very detail-oriented. You need to play and have great energy, so you are able to be very successful in your role in which you are able to do.”