Who is Adam Fisher? Here’s a look at Temple’s next men’s head basketball coach

Temple hired Penn State associate head coach Adam Fisher as its next head men’s basketball coach on Wednesday, per OwlScoop.com.

“I am truly honored and humbled by the amazing opportunity to become a part of the Temple family,” Fisher said via a statement. “I could not be more excited to lead one of the nation’s most legendary programs in Temple men’s basketball.

Fisher, who hails from Jamison, Pa. graduated from Penn State in 2006 before joining the Nittany Lions’ staff as a video coordinator in 2011. He was promoted to the team’s director of player development the following season.

After a two-year pit stop at Boston University that resulted in an NCAA Tournament berth in 2011, Fisher took his talents to Miami, where he’d make a name for himself as a recruiter.

While in Coral Gables, Fisher helped Jim Larranaga build the program with players largely from the Philadelphia area.

» READ MORE: A crazy day at Temple ends with Adam Fisher as head men’s basketball coach

In 2017, current Los Angeles Lakers guard Davon Reed was drafted 32nd overall by the Phoenix Suns. The Princeton Day School alum was a third-team all-Atlantic Coast Conference selection as a senior at Miami.

The next year, former Reading guard Lonnie Walker IV was selected 18th overall by the San Antonio Spurs . Reed, Walker and Denver Nuggets guard Bruce Brown Jr. helped the Hurricanes join Duke as the only two ACC programs to produce NBA Draft picks each year from 2017-19.

Now, in its second season since Fisher’s departure, Miami finds itself in the Final Four, led by two of Fisher’s recruits: 2018 Philadelphia Catholic League champion from Bonner-Prendie Isaiah Wong, and 2020 Philadelphia Public League Champion at Math, Civics, and Sciences Nisine “Wooga” Poplar.

Eight months after joining Micah Shrewsberry’s staff, Fisher helped the Nittany Lions recruit its best-ever class for the 2022-23 season — which included two-time PAISAA champion Jameel Brown and two-time PIAA champion Demetrius Lilley. With another top-30 class for 2023-24, Fisher helped Penn State recruit back-to-back top-30 classes for the first time in program history.

The Nittany Lions, consisting of former Roman Catholic guard Seth Lundy and former Archbishop Wood guard Andrew Funk, earned a No. 10 seed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament and defeated No. 7 Texas A&M, 76-59 in the first round.

» READ MORE: A bird's eye view of Temple's basketball program before Adam Fisher arrived | Mike Jensen

Aaron McKie’s tenure at Temple was ultimately unsuccessful due to his inability to recruit local talent.

Since discovering he would be Fran Dunphy’s successor, McKie missed out on talents like Poplar, 2019 four-star Maryland forwards Donta Scott (Imhotep Charter) and Hakim Hart (Roman Catholic), and 2021 four-star Cincinnati guard Dan Skillings Jr. also from Roman.

None hurt McKie directly more than Skillings, though. The guard, who averaged 5.3 points per game this season, scored a career-high 15 points in Cincinnati’s Feb. 22 win against Temple. He then set his career-high again with a 20-point performance in Cincinnati’s American Athletic Conference quarterfinal win against the Owls.

Now, Fisher is tasked with replicating his formula at Miami and Penn State at a Temple program that doesn’t arrive with the same name, image, and likeness resources as Fisher’s former Power Five employers.

The Owls currently have six players in the transfer portal: all-AAC guards Khalif Battle and Damian Dunn, and sophomores Jamille Reynolds, Hysier Miller, Zach Hicks and Nick Jourdain.

Sources tell the Inquirer that all except Battle and Dunn indicated they would speak with Temple’s new coach before making a decision on their futures. Prior to accepting the Temple job, Fisher reached out to Hicks to recruit him to Penn State out of the portal.

Once a consummate assistant, as head coach at Temple, Fisher now has to hire his own.

When McKie stepped down, his staff was retained with former Temple guard Chris Clark being named the interim head coach. Clark, the Owls’ de facto offensive coordinator for the past four seasons, has earned the respect of Temple players and alumni and is the most likely to be retained by Fisher.

Former Temple guard Dionte Christmas also noted his interest if the Owls gave him a call.