Temple basketball continues new era under Adam Fisher and Diane Richardson: ‘We have to win our backyard’

A new era has begun for Temple basketball.

Men’s head coach Adam Fisher, women’s head coach Diane Richardson, and women’s point guard Aleah Nelson spoke Monday morning at the annual American Athletic Conference basketball media day, answering each question that came their way and sharing what they expect from their season.

Fisher took the job after Temple legend Aaron McKie stepped down as head coach and became a special adviser to Temple athletics. After succeeding Fran Dunphy in 2019, McKie complied a 52-56 record in four seasons.

Fisher, a Bucks County native, comes to North Philadelphia following an NCAA Tournament appearance as the associate head coach on Micah Shrewsberry’s staff at Penn State. Before his two seasons with the Nittany Lions, Fisher spent six years at Miami.

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After McKie stepped down, a slew of major contributors entered the transfer portal, including Damian Dunn, Khalif Battle, Jamille Reynolds, Nick Jourdain, Hysier Miller, and Zach Hicks.

Miller was the only player to return to Temple. Fisher emphasized the importance of Miller’s return.

“He’s great,” Fisher said about Miller. “The leadership he brings, the toughness and just his personality. He’s a great ambassador for the university.”

In any program, especially in a rebuilding one, recruiting is key to capturing and maintaining success. Temple has not been a major player in local recruiting, but Fisher is looking to change that.

“We have to win our backyard,” Miller said. “We’re also a national brand, so we’re going to recruit wherever there are players, but we have to win our backyard.”

Richardson enters her second season at Temple after an unusual 11-18 campaign.

Richardson spent five years at Towson before Temple, and she brought Nelson and Tarriyonna Gary with her.

In the middle of last season, guards Jasha Clinton and Aniya Gourdine were dismissed from the team and forward Jalynn Holmes and guard Kourtney Wilson voluntarily left the program, resulting in Temple having only eight players.

After hitting the recruiting trail and transfer portal, the Owls now boast a complete roster, and Richardson couldn’t be happier about it.

“We have a full squad,” Richardson said. “I’m excited about this year. We’ll be able to play our game and have depth on the bench.”'

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Because of that lack of depth last season, Temple struggled on the boards. The Owls were eighth in the AAC in total rebounds and were outrebounded in 18 of their 29 games.

What did Richardson and Temple do to address its frontcourt issues?

“That was our Achilles heel last year,” Richardson said. “We filled those spots. We got some freshman coming in. Jaleesa Molina, [transfer] Rayne Tucker.”

With the lack of depth, Nelson’s role required her to be the main scoring option and ballhandler. In that role, she averaged 15.4 points and 4.4 assists, good enough to earn an All-AAC second-team honors.

With the new additions, Nelson no longer will need to carry the load offensively. Nelson will be taking more of an off-ball, on-court coach role, Richardson said.

“It’s a hard transition,” Nelson said about the new role. “I’m ready for it. … It’s something that I have been preparing for.”

Nelson will be entering her final collegiate season with one goal for herself and her team this season.

“Championship,” Nelson said. “First-team [All-AAC] is cool, but I would rather win a championship.”