Temple MBB Emphasizes Effort and Defense After Loss to Charleston

Each of Temple Men’s Basketball’s past two losses began in a similar fashion, the Owls conceding a double-digit run that put their opponents in the driver’s seat. While they never managed to gain ground against Richmond, Temple fought back within a possession on three separate occasions against the College of Charleston, riding 19 second half points from South Carolina transfer Cam Scott. The comeback bid eventually faltered, with the Owls losing 91-81.

Scott redshirted last season after getting a cup of coffee with the Gamecocks as a true freshman, and said that his teammates helped him maintain his confidence in the best performance of his college career, telling him to stay aggressive on the rare occasion he did miss a shot. The Owls corrected some of their mistakes from the Richmond loss, with head coach Adam Fisher saying he put an emphasis on shot selection after his players chucked up threes early in the shot clock against the Spiders.

“Shot quality, shot selection was a big discussion these last few days. I think the more we can get the defense to move, the more paint touches, the better your three shot quality,” Fisher said. “In that second half I thought Deuce Drake did a phenomenal job; Jordan Marsh, getting the paint touch and kicking out. Threes are a lot easier to get, you’ve gotta make the defense move.”

Spotlight On Point Guard

Passing remained a problem as the Owls managed just 12 assists on 33 makes, including just three on 11 makes in the first half.

“Offensively, we’ve gotta share the ball early. We just talked about it: when we play like individuals, it’s not good for this group,” Fisher said. “When we play as a team, we have guys that can score, guys that can get downhill, guys that can make shots. But the best way to do that is to get stops.”

Fisher challenged Marsh, a point guard transfer from Southern California who played just four of the first 20 minutes, at the half. 

“Jordan’s a competitor. It’s channeling the right energy at the right time. We challenged him at halftime specifically, ‘hey, play the right way, otherwise you’re going to sit with us.’ And I thought he played the right way,” Fisher said. “
When he plays the right way, he’s really good for us, but he’s got to be engaged. He can’t be worried about things that he can’t control. And again, I thought he played some big minutes for us in the second half that really helped us get back in the game.”

Earning Playing Time

Energy and effort were a point of emphasis for Fisher, who praised forwards Edwin Suarez Jr. and Sir Isaac Herron for how they played in the second half. Blown coverages and spotty effort contributed to the early hole, so Fisher looked for energy over counting stats.

“We told the guys the effort and energy to start this game wasn’t there. The guys that played hard were gonna be rewarded,” Fisher said.  “Who’s going to provide the effort and energy to get on the floor first 
and be that kind of gritty team that we talk about that we haven’t shown.”

Senior wing and preseason all-conference pick Gavin Griffiths is another player who could help Temple turn things around. He’s averaging just 6.7 points on seven shots per game, down from 10.1 points on 9.36 shots per game a season ago. Fisher said that Griffiths continues to contribute outside the box score, but that he still needs to act more decisively on offense.

“He’s our leading rebounder right now, he’s doing so many little things. His leadership is off the charts right now for this team. We’ve gotta do a better job of getting in the paint, kicking out, and he’s gotta be more aggressive,” Fisher said. “He can dunk on guys in the lane, we’ve seen it. He’s gonna be aggressive and look for that, but he’s doing a lot of little things for our team that doesn’t always show up on the box score that he’s gotta keep doing, and then I think you’re gonna see the scoring.”