Temple University Athletics
Men's Basketball
- Title:
- Director of Men's Basketball Operations
- Email:
- jpolisi@temple.edu
Temple went 16-16 overall and 8-10 in the American Conference in 2025-26, finishing 10-6 at the Liacouras Center and putting together its longest winning streak since 2014-15 at seven games. The Owls also knocked off eventual conference champion South Florida, 79-78, in a White Out thriller, while 11 of their 16 losses came by two possessions or fewer.
Temple’s identity was built on defense and ball security. The Owls ranked 11th nationally in turnovers per game (9.0), committing 10 or fewer turnovers in 20 of 32 games, and made one of the nation’s biggest defensive jumps by cutting scoring defense from 77.7 points per game in 2024-25 to 70.8 in 2025-26. Temple also held opponents to 32.4 percent shooting from 3-point range and averaged 4.0 blocks per game.
The season also featured major growth from Temple’s core. Derrian Ford blossomed into one of the conference’s top scorers, averaging 18.1 points per game after averaging 8.0 at Arkansas State. Aiden Tobiason surged from 4.8 points per game as a freshman to 15.3 as a sophomore. Gavin Griffiths developed into a two-way weapon, averaging 10.1 points, hitting 63 3-pointers and ranking second in the conference in both total blocks and blocks per game. Jordan Mason gave the Owls a true point guard presence, averaging 11.8 points and 4.0 assists per game while ranking second in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio.
The Owls made significant progress in the second season under Fisher's staff, improving their regular-season win total by five and adding four additional victories in AAC play. Temple's offense shined, setting a new program record of 78.8 points per game. Defending the Liacouras Center with pride, the Owls boasted a 12-2 record on North Broad Street, defeating No. 18 Memphis and North Texas. Temple became the only AAC team to beat the top two seeded conference teams in the regular season.In 2023-24, Temple became the first team in American Athletic Conference history to win four games in four days at the conference tournament and helped guide Temple to its first appearance in the AAC championship game. TU finished second in program history with 296 made three-pointers and were 31st nationally with just 9.9 turnovers per game. The Owls also came away with 7.4 steals an outing, a jump of more than two per game from the previous season and their highest total since 2018-19.
During his time as an undergraduate at Temple (2016-20), Polisi served as a manager for all four years, including as the head manager for the 2018-19 and 2019-20 campaigns. His responsibilities included recording statistics in practices, preparing game film, rebounding for players, organizing equipment, and coordinating laundry.
After his time as a manager at Temple, Polisi served two seasons as a graduate assistant with the Hurricanes. The Philadelphia native helped Miami with operations tasks, film coding and equipment management, while handling all food ordering for the program. In addition, Polisi served as a liaison to the ticket office and assisted in facilitating recruiting visits.
During his last season for the Hurricanes, he was elevated to the newly-created operations specialist position at Miami, serving in a full-time position on Larrañaga’ s staff. The Hurricanes finished the 2022-23 season with a 29-8 record, advancing to the NCAA Final Four before falling to eventual NCAA Champion UConn, 72-59, in the National Semifinals.
Before joining the Hurricanes, Polisi worked as a basketball operations assistant for the Philadelphia 76ers from October 2019 to May 2020. His duties included assisting players’ families during games and organizing events for them, as well as player ticket distribution.
From February 2018 to October 2019, Polisi was an equipment staff member and ball boy for the 76ers. The role included locker room preparation, rebounding for players pregame and loading visiting teams’ equipment trucks postgame.
Polisi earned his undergraduate degree in sport and recreation management from Temple in 2020. He added a master’s degree in liberal studies from Miami in May 2022.
The Jimmy Polisi File
| Seasons | Team | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | Philadelphia 76ers | Basketball Operations Assistant |
| 2020-22 | Miami (FL) | Graduate Assistant |
| 2022-23 | Miami (FL) | Operations Specialist |
| 2023-present | Temple | Director of Men's Basketball Operations |
