Temple faces familiar roster turnover entering the season, but returns two key starters
The Owls have struggled against conference opponents, but hope their new talent and returners will add another level of depth. Adam Fisher will use the preseason to determine his starting lineup.
Temple ended the 2025-26 season in familiar fashion. The Owls finished 16-16 after starting 15-8 and lost in the first round of the American Conference Tournament.
Now, the Owls have 10 newcomers and five returners, including two starters in Gavin Griffiths and Derrian Ford. But fourth-year coach Adam Fisher has the same aspirations even with a new team.
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“We got to be gritty at times,” Fisher said. “Offensively, we’re trying to play faster. But how do you play faster? It starts with defense. So we want to create more opportunities on the offensive end by being better defensively. … We got to be gritty and tough, and that’s something that we’re going to pride ourselves on all year.”
New faces
The Owls brought in several guards through the transfer portal. Jason “Deuce” Drake and Jordan Marsh headline the group.
Drake transferred from Indiana after missing last season with an injury. He averaged 11.1 points at Drexel in 2024-25.
Marsh comes to Temple from Southern California, where he averaged 7.2 points in a bench role. He also dropped a season-high 20 points at Maryland and hit 35.7% of his three-pointers.
“This is my fourth year, so I know what college basketball is like,” Marsh said. “Just leading the young guys or the older guys and just winning. That’s all I want.”
Temple’s wings include Dez White, Cam Scott, Edwin Suarez Jr., Baboucarr Njie, and Derrick Morton-Rivera.
White is expected to provide shooting. He made 37.9% of his three-pointers at Oregon State last season. Njie was familiar with Temple before he arrived, playing against the Owls twice last year at UTSA and scoring a career-high 25 points in their second meeting. Morton-Rivera is the only freshman on the team. He helped Father Judge win consecutive Catholic League championships.
Leaders back on Broad
Temple leaned heavily on three players to score last season: Griffiths, Ford, and Aiden Tobiason. Tobiason averaged 15.3 points and his 48% shooting was fourth in the conference. He transferred out to Syracuse, but the Owls retained two of their core players. Griffiths and Ford received preseason second team all-conference honors.
Ford’s return was a surprise for Temple. After scoring 18.1 points per game last season, good for fourth in the American, the senior declared for the NBA draft, but did not sign a professional contract. He was then among a group of athletes who challenged a Louisiana court for a fifth season of eligibility. He announced his return to the squad in September.
» READ MORE: Derrian Ford will return to Temple after being granted fifth year of eligibility
“His agent called and said, ‘He just wants to be at Temple,’” Fisher said. “To add someone like that, that wants to be at Temple, that loved his experience at Temple, in the locker room talking to all these new guys, it’s fantastic.”
Griffiths proved to be a versatile player last season. He averaged 10.1 points and led the team in blocks with 1.9. He was the only player in Division I with at least 60 three-pointers and 50 blocks last season.
Playing for the long run
In the last three years, the Owls are 22-32 against conference opponents. For Fisher, improving in the final stretch of the year will be a team effort.
And that starts with depth. There isn’t a clear answer on what lineups will look like, but Fisher said that’s what preseason is for.
“It’s now going to be, ‘Hey, you’ve had your opportunity. Now we’re going to start moving some teams around,” he said. “Trying to figure out who’s going to potentially start, who’s going to be first off the bench.”
