By Pat Dallahan
We are just three days away from the May 1st NCAA transfer portal entry deadline. Most teams are starting to have an idea of what their roster will look like and are starting to form expectations for the 2024-25 season, both high and low.
One program that has high expectations? The Temple Owls.
Following an incredible run to the American Athletic Conference championship game and the winningest first season by a Temple head coach in school history by Adam Fisher, there was somewhat of a mass exodus.
Sam Hofman exhausted all of his eligibility and graduated, while 6 other players entered the transfer portal: Emmanuel Okpomo, Deuce Roberts, Taj Thweatt, Jahlil White, and most notably, Jordan Riley and Hysier Miller. Miller led the Owls in scoring last season and had an excellent stretch in the AAC tournament. He recently announced he would be headed to Blacksburg to play for Mike Young and the Hokies. This left Adam Fisher with 6 scholarships to play with this offseason.
Who has Adam Fisher used these scholarships on? Let's take a look.
On Monday April 22nd, Adam Fisher reeled in the most impressive (and unexpected) transfer portal commitment in recent history for the Owls and one of the most impressive recruiting jobs of this year's portal season. Jamal Mashburn Jr will be playing basketball on North Broad street next season for his final season of eligibility, after stops in Minnesota and New Mexico, where Mashburn was a 3-time all league player in the Mountain West. Mashburn was a huge part of New Mexico winning its first conference tournament since 2014. It cannot be stressed how important of a pick-up Mashburn is for this Temple squad and program overall. Obviously, we all know what Mash brings to the table. An elite scorer off the bounce who is a very capable shooter. Doesn't drive often, which fits right into how Adam Fisher will use him. This commitment established that the Temple rebuild would not last much longer. The Owls want to compete now.
Two days later, on Wednesday at noon, Temple landed by far their most expected portal commitment in former Roman Catholic star and Philadelphia native, Lynn Greer III. Greer's father, Lynn Greer II, is second all time in career points for the Owls and is currently on Adam Fisher's staff. LGIII has made stops at Dayton, and most recently, Saint Joe's where he averaged 10.9 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 3.7 APG. Greer compliments Mashburn's game very well. While Mashburn's scoring production will come almost exclusively from the perimeter, Greer's production will come on the inside. According to CBB Analytics, 75.3% of Greers shot attempts last year came inside the paint, with half of those shots being at the rim. Greer will force defenses to be honest when it comes to defending the drive and will not allow defenses to completely sell out on defending the perimeter. Temple missed out on LGIII in his last two recruiting cycles, so it is a very sweet feeling for Owl fans knowing he finally will be back on Broad Street, right down the road from his high school Alma Mater, Roman Catholic.
As the saying goes, "When it rains, it pours." Two days after Greer's announcement, the storm continued for the Owls, landing their third commitment in five days. Jameel Brown announced his commitment to Temple at noon on Friday. For Owls fans, this commitment was not much of a surprise, either. The North Philadelphia native previously played under Adam Fisher at Penn State. Brown is a three-and-d player who understands his strengths and limitations very well. Of his 107 attempted field goals in the 2023-24 season, 91 of them were from beyond the arc. "Worm" shot 31% from deep on 3 attempts a game, the majority of which came on the catch and shoot. Another player who fits Fisher's offensive mold of shooting lots, and lots, of three pointers.
Following these three commitments, the Owls have three scholarships remaining. The current roster looks as followed:
Newcomers: Jamal Mashburn jr (New Mexico), Lynn Greer III (Saint Joe's), Jameel Brown (Penn State), Dillon Battie (high school), and Aidan Tobiason (high school).
Returners: Shane Dezonie, Zion Stanford, Steve Settle III, Matteo Picarelli, Quante Berry, and Connor Gal.
With 3 scholarships remaining, it is very clear what the Owls recruiting focus is going forward: inside presence. Of the players I mentioned, only two of them are forwards: Steve Settle III and Zion Stanford. While Settle has the height and the shot blocking ability of a 5, he is much more of stretch 4.
It is hard to explain how much the expectations around this program have changed within the last two months. On March 7th, Temple suffered their 10th straight loss to UAB, 100-72, which capped off their longest losing streak since the 1975-76 season. Ever since that fateful day, things have only gotten better and better for the Owls. Although, hope is a dangerous thing for Temple fans, which I have seen up close.
The fans are right to be cautious with their expectations. The last time there were any real expectations around Temple was before the infamous "Tournament or Bust" season in the fall of 2022. This program has seen some tough times since the departure of Fran Dunphy following the 2019 season (which was coincidentally the last time Temple appeared in the NCAA tournament).
The fans are also right to be excited for what this team can do in the future. They were 40 minutes away from the NCAA tournament last season and they have improved greatly. If they were able to come as close as they did last season under a first year head coach, who's to say they cannot do it again with an improved roster and a more experienced staff?
Of course, time will answer these questions and the roster will fill itself out soon enough. But, year 2 in the Adam Fisher era is off to a great start and Owl fans should be excited.