Adam Fisher’s ‘loose and locked in’ mentality has Temple in the AAC quarterfinals

FORT WORTH, Texas — Whenever someone asks Temple head coach Adam Fisher about his team’s 10-game losing streak earlier this season, he thanks them with a smile.

That response has drawn a laugh the last two days at the American Athletic Conference tournament.

“Even in tough times, he’ll try to break a joke out, kind of brighten up the room,” star guard Hysier Miller said. “He’s got some good jokes.”

Unfortunately, Miller’s memory grew a bit fuzzy regarding his favorite Fisher funny. So we’ll take his word for it.

But the results of the levity are hard to miss as No. 11 seed Temple entered its AAC quarterfinal matchup with No. 3 seed Charlotte Friday night.

“My wife doesn’t think I have a sense of humor, so thank you for that,” Fisher said. “You’ve got to be loose and locked in. You can’t play tight, and you can’t change your approach. Like, I know who I am. I have to coach the only way I know how. … I wear my emotions on my sleeve a lot. And you’ve got to take that same approach. I think these guys will probably tell you, when I yell, they perk up a little bit because it doesn’t happen all the time. So I think you have to be who you are, and I think our team has their personalities, and it’s a great mesh.”

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When Fisher looks at his squad, from lanky, 6-foot-10 Steve Settle III to the 6-1 Miller, he sees players with different styles and personalities, but a group that came together when it mattered most and “didn’t blink,” in Miller’s words, against SMU and won its fifth game in its last seven.

When reflecting on the differences between the regular-season loss to SMU and Thursday’s 75-60 win, Miller leaned over to Fisher and asked the coach what he said to the team about its improvement.

“I think we were down 15-0 there, and I think it was like 15-7 [on Thursday]. So big improvement,” Fisher said with a laugh.

It was 17-7, but the point still stands.

Throughout their wins in Fort Worth, the Owls have played with a lightness, particularly as they rallied past SMU on Thursday night. It’s a product of a season filled with ups and downs, like so many others across sports, a program’s growing pains on display for the world to see.

The confidence bubbled to the surface, whether it was Sam Hofman’s reverse layup about halfway through the period — “that was new,” Settle said — or Miller feeding Jahlil White on an alley-oop with 1 minute, 41 seconds to go and the Owls already holding a double-digit lead.

“They don’t just show up for practice,” Fisher said. “All these guys put in extra work. They all have great routines. They all do extra. So I think when you see that and you have a passion to want to be in the gym and want to be together, as coaches, we’re going to believe in them. … And I think you’re seeing our guys believe in each other. They’re excited for one another. When someone makes a shot, they’re happy; the bench is happy.”

The growth of these players — watching them grow through wins and losses — is what’s most rewarding for Fisher.

“Our group is entertaining,” the coach said. “Some of them think they’re funnier than they are, but it’s great to be with them. And, I think, during that tough stretch, our shootarounds, our practices, were the same. We had the same approach. It was the same we did today; the same we did during that streak, and I think that’s really a credit to our players.”