Temple (3-1, 0-0 American Athletic Conference) is off to a fast start in the 2024-25 season after picking up wins against Sacred Heart, Monmouth and Drexel before narrowly falling to Boston College on the road Friday night. The team’s offensive depth is a big reason they are riding high heading into the middle part of their out-of-conference schedule.
Head coach Adam Fisher entered the season boasting about his mostly-new roster that features a deep bag of scoring threats. The Owls’ newfound depth means they no longer have to rely on one person to lead the team in points each game.
“We have multiple guys on this team that can go get 20,” Fisher said. “That’s a big thing for us, is our depth. That’s something we’re going to use throughout this season.”
The Owls’ offense was one-dimensional for most of last season and it cost them chances to pull out tightly contested games. The offensive production relied heavily on former guard Hysier Miller, who averaged 16 points per game last season. When he wasn’t on the court, Temple lacked a primary scorer and struggled to get shots to fall consistently. Miller left for Virginia Tech in the offseason, but Temple’s replacements have paid dividends so far this season.
New Mexico transfer guard Jamal Mashburn Jr. had essentially turned The Liacouras Center floor into his personal playground. He had 26 points in the Owls’ 81-79 season-opening win against Sacred Heart on Nov. 4 and 25 in a 101-73 blowout victory against Monmouth on Nov. 8. He didn’t have his best shooting performance against Drexel on Nov. 12 but still finished with 20 points.
“I’m always in attack mode,” Mashburn said. “I’m always ready to score, ready to pass, make a play, ready to play defense, whatever I gotta do to get a win.”
When Mashburn struggled early against Drexel, guard Zion Stanford instantly stepped up. He became the driving force on offense against the Dragons and took the role of the team’s primary scorer, hitting a career-high 23 points in the 69-61 win.
Forward Steve Settle III has also been a consistent piece of the offense and has taken a leap in his second year on North Broad Street. He scored double digits in the Owls’ first two games and has been dominant on the glass, leading Temple and averaging almost nine rebounds per game.
When Settle isn’t sinking his shots, he’s been helping the offense by setting up his teammates. The redshirt senior is tied with Mashburn for the team lead in most assists, averaging nearly three a game including a high of six in the season opener.
Temple’s scoring depth behind Mashburn has extended further than just Settle and Stanford. Forward Babatunde Durodola and guard Jameel Brown have also given Temple an offensive boost it lacked last season. Durodola has started at center in all four games so far and Brown has given Temple perimeter shooting it previously lacked, with 14 of his 15 shots being from beyond the arc.
“We have great scorers, great shooters,” Settle said. “We have a bunch of guys that can make plays so trying to find those guys in their moment is something coach preaches and you know, guys make plays.”
Temple has prioritized scoring off assists by pushing the ball around the court to find open players, regardless of who it is. While everyone has the knack for scoring, it has been crucial to dish the rock around.
The Owls’ depth was put on full display against Monmouth when 11 of 14 players who entered the game scored. To add points to the players’ stat sheets, Temple recorded 17 assists, which matched its season-high from last season.
“Every time I’m on the court, I want to be a playmaker,” Stanford said. “I might not be able to get a bucket every time, so if I see one of my teammates open, I play make first.”
Temple’s scoring abilities were truly tested against Drexel when only nine scholarship players were available. Eight of those nine players scored, with each finding a way to contribute.
“Everybody’s got to realize, on this team, we talked about it, there’s so many guys that could go get 20,” Fisher said. “How can you impact winning if you’re not going to get 20? And I think that’s what we saw tonight, our group came together. The versatility and how deep we are showed tonight.”
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