While a lot of Adam Fisher’s friends that grew up loving basketball idolized Michael Jordan or Shaquille O’Neal, Temple Men’s Basketball’s new head coach always idolized his dad.
For as long as he can remember, Fisher wanted to be a head coach. Though his last experience in a jersey was at Central Bucks East High School in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, he always had a passion for the game and envisioned himself around the sport.
“I always knew I wanted to coach,” Fisher said. “My dad was my first coach. He coached my brother and me, and he was my inspiration in wanting to get into coaching, so I give him all the credit.”
After decades of work, Fisher gets his chance to lead a program. Temple announced his hiring on March 29 after moving former head coach Aaron McKie into a special advisory role.
Fisher is the first coach in several years without prior connections to Temple, but he wants his era of basketball to remain connected to7 tradition while also taking a modern turn.
TRADITION OF THE “T”
The Temple program Fisher inherited is seventh all-time in wins in college basketball history. From the ‘80s to the late ‘90s, former Temple head coach and icon John Chaney’s Owls were one of the best teams in the country, making 17 NCAA tournaments and winning 516 games during his tenure.
“You think about coach Chaney, just the toughness, the grit, Aaron McKie, you see coach Dunphy come in,” Fisher said. “To me, the tradition is there. I look up and I see those banners, I tell my team this isn’t normal. Not every team has those banners.”
Chaney’s successor, Fran Dunphy, picked up right where Chaney left off. The Owls went dancing eight times under Dunphy but could never make it past the second round.
The winning tradition ended once Dunphy stepped down and Temple great Aaron McKie took the reins in 2019. The Owls never took flight during McKie’s four seasons, going 52-56 and failing to win a single game in the AAC Tournament during his time on Broad Street, finishing 0-3.
Now, it’s Fisher’s turn to take over the storied program he grew up watching.
“I love being back in Philadelphia,” Fisher said. “Growing up, I watched the great coach Chaney teams, coach Dunphy teams, coach McKie, all the great teams here. And you watch all the legends come through here. It’s a program that has a great history of winning.”
JOURNEY TO THE TOP
Fisher is no stranger to legendary coaches. The Bucks County native traveled down the Main Line after graduating from Penn State in 2006 to Temple’s Big 5 rival Villanova, where he was a graduate assistant under Hall of Fame coach Jay Wright.
When Villanova assistant coach Pat Chambers left the Wildcats to become head coach at Boston University in 2009, he hired Fisher to his staff as the director of basketball operations for two seasons. Chambers left for Penn State in 2011 and Fisher followed back to his old stomping grounds, this time as Chambers’ video coordinator.
Fisher worked his way up the ranks at his alma mater, getting promoted to director of player development after just one season.
Fisher’s work and dedication caught the eye of legendary Miami head coach Jim Larrañaga and his ascend continued. Fisher took his coaching talents to South Beach in 2013 and joined the Hurricanes’ staff as director of operations.
Larrañaga promoted Fisher to assistant coach in 2015 and the two qualified for three NCAA tournaments in Fisher’s six years at Miami. During those years, Larrañaga taught Fisher lessons that he still keeps today.
“Coach Larrañaga is my mentor,” Fisher said. “He told me be yourself, be who you are, build your foundation, make sure your players know you care and treat everyone in a first-class manner. We go around, we get to know the janitor, we get to know the security guards. It’s important; it takes a lot of people to put on a practice, let alone a game.”
Fisher made one more pit stop at Penn State, serving under former head coach Micah Shrewsberry before getting the chance to be the lead man for his own program.
Now, Temple’s newest head coach wants to use his experience and success to return the team to prominence.
“I’ve brought a little bit from everywhere,” Fisher said. “Whether it be some things from Villanova I learned or Miami, we brought something from Penn State, Boston University. I brought a little bit of all that and kind of put my own style on it.”
ON THE ROAD
Much of Fisher’s success stems from his ability to build relationships. His specialty as an assistant coach was recruiting, and he helped the Canes land a commitment from NBA player Lonnie Walker IV and other standouts across the country.
The recruiting success followed him to his third stint with the Nittany Lions, bringing in a top-30 recruiting class in 2022, which included Jameel Brown and transfer Andrew Funk.
Fisher found a lot of his players from the Philadelphia area during his recruiting. He helped beat Temple and other local schools in battles for Wooga Poplar, whom Fisher successfully brought to Miami in 2021.
LAYING THE FOUNDATION
Fisher’s recruiting acumen was a big reason Temple considered him as a candidate. After he got the job, Fisher inherited a team that lost five main contributors in 2022. The new coach knew there was a lot of work to be done, and filling out the roster was his number one priority.
That process started by meeting with guards Hysier Miller, who had entered the portal, and Jahlil White, who questioned whether or not he should stay.
“I ended up going into the transfer portal just because I was unsure what was next,” Miller said. “When Coach Fisher got hired, I was convinced, already just thinking about coming back and really giving it a go.”
When White finally got to meet Fisher, he noticed the coach’s outgoing personality and determination to win. White knew that was what he and his team wanted in a coach, and he knew Fisher’s program would be a good fit for him.
“We had a meeting, and he was there,” White said. “We walked in, and we saw him just smiling. He had his family with him, so the first thing I was thinking was, ‘Oh yeah, he is the type of guy I like, a good, positive guy.’”
Quante Berry was the second recruit Fisher brought to Temple. After one visit and a few conversations with Fisher and the staff, Berry knew being a part of Fisher’s team was the best next step for him.
“I didn’t take any more visits after that,” Berry said. “I just committed as soon as I got home.”
Fisher wants to establish a new culture while staying true to what made the program so successful throughout its history. The coach is taking command of the Owls with his only Temple experience coming as a fan.
Fisher has preached about the importance of alumni involvement since taking the job in March in an attempt to connect Temple to its roots, whether that be on his staff or coming into a practice.
“If you’re a former player, anything to do with our program, you’re always welcome,” Fisher said. “Don’t call, just show up. They’ve come back and have been able to talk to the team. They’re able to show the pride to wear that jersey, and it’s been great”
That started with retaining important figures in Temple history like Chris Clark, who played for the Owls from 2004-08 and coached since Dunphy hired him in 2016. Fisher then hired Khalif Wyatt as director of player development and Lynn Greer, who is the second-leading scorer in program history, as chief of staff.
As the summer came to an end, conditioning and pre-season workouts began. Fisher showed his team what type of coach he was and what his main focuses were going to be. A self-described motivator, Fisher has been trying to get his team ready for the season ahead.
“He just wants his guys to be confident all the time, no matter what the score is, no matter what’s going on,” White said. “He instills confidence in us to take chances on defense and shoot your shots on offense. He allows us to play our game.”
With about a week left until the season tips-off, Fisher is preparing his team for the beginning of his tenure on North Broad Street. His dream of being on top of a college program has come true after decades of work, and he wants to make this next step about more than just himself.
“It’s incredible,” Fisher said. “My whole career, you work to get to this point. To work my way up, it’s just incredible, and to read all the text messages I got when I got the job. I told my family just getting the job isn’t enough; you gotta win.”
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