Adam Fisher’s tough task at Temple was on full display Wednesday night

Adam Fisher’s uphill climb was on full display Wednesday night inside Liacouras Center where, if you were particularly bored, counting the butts in the seats might have made for a reasonable way to pass some time as Temple lost to East Carolina, 73-62. It wouldn’t have taken very long. The veterans among the media contingent at the game surmised that the attendance was among the lowest non-COVID showing in the building’s 26-year history.

Temple announced 2,003 attendees. You would have struggled to count much more than 400.

Never mind that part of it for now. There will always be an element of if you win, they will come, and Temple students are still on winter break.

The part in Fisher’s immediate control, the play on the court, was evidence enough of his tough task after taking over the basketball program in late March. The Owls were coming off a home conference victory Sunday over Wichita State, a team expected to finish above them in the American Athletic Conference standings. They followed that up with a spiritless second half in the loss to East Carolina.

The Pirates seized control of the game with a 14-4 run to start the second half. At that point, their extended run had grown to 26-8, and Temple’s 12-point deficit was too much to overcome. Temple struggled to defend, couldn’t find enough clean looks, and never made a big play to swing things in its direction.

“They punched us in the mouth to start the second half and we weren’t able to respond to it in a way I would’ve liked,” Fisher said.

“It’s a season of ups and downs. I thought we did a great job defending and rebounding and setting the stage for what it takes to play in our program on Sunday. And then you come back here and it’s not the outcome you want.”

The message afterward?

“Stay together during the good and the bad,” Fisher said. “You can see, some nights you’re not going to have it, so you need someone to pick you up.”

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The problem for Fisher’s Owls right now is there aren’t enough “someones” on the roster. Temple’s leading scorer, Hysier Miller, would be perfect in a complementary role. But the Owls (8-8, 1-2 AAC) need him to be so much more than that. Jahlil White has been good, but injuries have limited him to nine of Temple’s 16 games. Georgetown transfer Jordan Riley is playing well and is proving to be a dynamic, athletic guard in this conference after struggling a bit on the worst team in the Big East.

Beyond them, where does Temple turn? Maryland-Baltimore County transfer Matteo Picarelli is a great shooter, but Temple struggled to find ways to get him open Wednesday night. When there’s not enough offensive talent around a shooter, the Owls become much easier to guard (see: Villanova’s Brendan Hausen last season). Howard transfer Steve Settle III has shown flashes but has been too inconsistent to be relied on. He’s shooting 26.2% from three-point range on more than four attempts per game.

Freshman Zion Stanford, from West Catholic, has seemingly fallen out of the rotation after some strong showings in the early portion of the season. Stanford suffered an ankle injury and missed some time, and Fisher said limited practice time has hurt him.

“He’s a freshman, has to learn what it takes to compete at this level,” Fisher said.

Wednesday, Fisher said, marked the fourth time in 16 games that Temple had all 13 players available to play. It’s hard enough for a first-year coach with this many moving parts and new pieces to get things rolling, even more so when there are injuries.

Fisher wasn’t making excuses, just stating the facts.

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This season is more than likely heading where it was always going to go. The Owls are a bottom-third AAC team. They have shown few signs to believe anything else. Fisher’s real charge is establishing some sort of culture in Year 1, bringing in some talented high school recruits (the Owls have two commitments in the 2024 class), and hitting the transfer portal in a few months. It’s impossible to grade a coach under these circumstances until at least this time next year, and probably beyond that.

As far as his self-assessment goes midway through his first season as a head coach, Fisher called himself his “biggest critic.”

“I’m hard on myself. I assess every practice, so it’s not just games. I leave practice and write notes. ‘Man, I’ve got to do that better … I have to explain that better.’ And then take notes and try to do it. I have an incredible staff. They’re great, they’ve helped me so much and I keep trusting those guys. But at the end of the day it’s just trying to get better each day.”

The schedule doesn’t slow down. Temple hits the road Friday for a trip to Texas for games at North Texas and at SMU. The Owls will likely be big underdogs in both games.

“It’s a great time for your team to stay together and spend some time together,” Fisher said. “We need it.”