Aiden Tobiason ready to ‘step up’ next season with Temple impacted by transfer portal woes

Aiden Tobiason stood in the lobby Tuesday night at the Fellowship House in Conshohocken wearing a cherry Temple “T” across his black shirt with a beaming smile across his face as he talked about the next chapter of his basketball career.

The 6-foot-5 guard from St. Elizabeth High School in Wilmington is focused on getting ready to make an impact for the Owls next season.

“I’m very excited,” Tobiason said. “We’ve got some guys in the transfer portal, so I know I’m going to have to step up into a big role and I know I’m going to have to work in the offseason really hard.”

Tobiason was an all-state honorable mention as a junior in 2022-23 as the Vikings went 12-8 and missed out on the state playoffs. He mostly had interest from Division II and III programs before generating some buzz during a breakout summer of travel hoops.

He continued that momentum into the fall, landing on Temple coach Adam Fisher’s radar and committing in early November after a speedy recruiting process.

Tobiason followed his breakout offseason with a terrific senior campaign, averaging 18.8 points and being named Delaware’s player of the year while helping St. Elizabeth to a 22-2 finish and the state semifinals.

“A small community, but a very supportive community,” Tobiason said of St. Elizabeth. “Last year we didn’t make the playoffs, and then we got to the Final Four. … I love those guys, and I’m going to miss them because we really built a relationship during the summer after coming off a bad season.”

Tobiason and Dillon Battie, a 6-7 power forward from Texas, make up Fisher’s first recruiting class as he heads into his second season at the helm. The two recruits talked throughout the winter as they prepared for a new look at Temple.

Fisher went 16-20 in his first year, including a 5-13 record in the American Athletic Conference.

However, Tobiason watched as Fisher guided his team to five straight wins late in the season, including four in the AAC tournament, before the run ended in the championship game, just a win short of an NCAA Tournament appearance.

» READ MORE: Temple’s leading scorer, Hysier Miller, latest Big 5 men’s basketball player to enter transfer portal

“It was a big run,” Tobiason said. “I saw it coming though. For a lot of people, it was unexpected. They just worked together, and Coach Fisher is a great coach and he brought everybody together and he had that big run.”

Tobiason was at the Liacouras Center for a game against Columbia early last season and went to the Wells Fargo Center to watch the Owls compete against St. Joseph’s in this season’s inaugural Big 5 Classic.

He had the chance to talk with some of the team’s players throughout the year. He got to know freshman Zion Stanford, a West Catholic graduate, and redshirt freshman Quante Barry.

The Owls staff is expecting Tobiason and Battie to be important pieces next season as two of the team’s top three scorers — Hysier Miller (15.9 ppg) and Jahlil White (10.1) — have entered the transfer portal along with Emmanuel Okpomo, Taj Thweatt, and Deuce Roberts.

“They told me I’ve got a big role coming ahead of me, but I’ve just got to stay focused and work hard,” Tobiason said. “They like my shot-making ability, my defensive ability, and rebounding. I’m always looking to push the floor and I think that’s a big factor in our conference. … They’re looking at me like a three-and-D player who can get to the rim at times.”

Tobiason will join a program that’s five years removed from its last NCAA Tournament appearance with just one winning season during that stretch. He hopes to change that.

“I’m excited for the rebuild,” Tobiason said. “I think it’s going to be great.”

This story was produced as part of a partnership between The Inquirer and City of Basketball Love, a nonprofit news organization that covers high school and college basketball in the Philadelphia area while also helping mentor the next generation of sportswriters. This collaboration will help boost coverage of the city’s vibrant amateur basketball scene, from the high school ranks up through the Big 5 and beyond.