Parker Fox News - MinnesotaSportsFan https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/tag/parker-fox/ Minnesota sports, but different Sat, 23 Mar 2024 19:36:03 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.3 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=32,height=32,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/cropped-cropped-MSF-favicon-1.jpg Parker Fox News - MinnesotaSportsFan https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/tag/parker-fox/ 32 32 Parker Fox ‘Leaning Toward’ Leaving https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-basketball/minnesota-gophers-mbb-rumors-parker-fox-leaning-toward-leaving/ Sat, 23 Mar 2024 19:33:27 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=49080 The Minnesota Gophers men’s basketball team will get another chance to extend their season on Sunday afternoon when they play their 2nd round game of the NIT Tournament vs the Indiana State Sycamores.

It’s a game that, win or lose, head coach Ben Johnson said will be bitter sweet. In fact, every win after the Big Ten Tournament ended has felt that way, including the moment they accepted their NIT invite, which only came because so many schools before them turned it down.

Ben Johnson balancing NIT Tournament and Transfer Portal

Most other teams that turned down their invite did so in order to get a headstart on recruiting the transfer portal, which is already full of talented players actively searching for a new home. Johnson told Andy Greder (Pioneer Press) in a recent interview that he’s been actively recruiting the transfer portal while simultaneously trying to focus on coaching the Gophers to NIT victories, a balance he admitted is tough.

โ€œThe hardest part about it is the longer you play, the longer you donโ€™t know what your roster is going to look like, so you are (looking) in the portal, but you are kind of in the portal guessing to a certain extent, unless you know you have open scholarships already.“

Ben Johnson on balancing NIT and Transfer Portal (via Pioneer Press)

But it sounds like Ben may have hinted to Greder, off the record, of one player he is expecting not to be on roster next season, and that is super senior and Mahtomedi native, Parker Fox, who is playing the 2023-24 season at 24-years-old.

Parker Fox ‘leaning toward’ leaving Minnesota Gophers

Near the bottom of Andy’s article Saturday at TwinCities.com, he notes that Elijah Hawkins has already committed to staying in Dinkytown next season, but that Fox is “leaning toward” not using his final year of eligibility.

Gophers point guard Elijah Hawkins told the Star Tribune last week that he will be returning next season. Key substitute forward Parker Fox appears to be leaning toward not using his seventh year of eligibility next season.

Other than those two players, the Gophersโ€™ roster is more to-be-determined until their season comes to an end.

Andy Greder – Pioneer Press

If Fox does indeed move on from his life as a Minnesota Gophers basketball player, it will certainly hurt this team. Parker is no longer the phenom athlete he was prior to multiple knee surgeries that stunted his rise as a college basketball player, but he is the emotional motor the Gophers can always look to whenever they need a jump start.

Related: Cam Christie Doesnโ€™t Appear Interested in Transfer Portal but NBA Draft is a Real Threat to Gophers

Not only that, but he’s adapted his game in a way that makes him a sneaky important part of their gameplan off the bench. He’s proven himself as much more than a dude who likes to jump over people on his way to the rim. Fox is has morphed himself to a heady player who, even while mostly glued to the floor, is going to test an opponent’s weaknesses and lean into them wherever possible. And hey, he can still get up a little bit.

If Fox has indeed informed Ben of his offseason exit plans, I appreciate him doing it as early as possible, so the program can use that knowledge in the transfer portal, even before their season ends.

]]> Sat, 23 Mar 2024 14:36:03 +0000 Minnesota Gophers Basketball Four Minnesota Gophers MBB Players Receive 2023-24 Big Ten Honors https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-basketball/minnesota-gophers-mbb-big-ten-honors-2023-24/ Tue, 12 Mar 2024 19:25:05 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=48739 March has arrived, and the Minnesota Gophers men’s basketball regular season has come to a close. They finished with a 18-3 overall record, 9-11 in Big Ten play and focus now shifts to the Big Ten tournament, where they hold the #9 seed, good for a first round bye. Their 2nd round matchup will tip-off at 11 a.m CDT on Thursday vs Tom Izzo and the #8 seed Michigan State Spartans.

The Gophers’ chances of an at-large bid are pretty much dead so they’d have to win the Big Ten tourney this week, to make the NCAA Tournament. (Editor’s note: That has never happened in the tournament’s 25-year history)

Minnesota Gophers basketball players earn All-Big Ten Honors, Awards

But no matter how next week goes down, the 2023-24 season has already been the exact type of bounce-back year that head coach Ben Johnson needed in his 3rd-year. Entering the season, the DeLaSalle grad had a total of six Big Ten wins since taking over the program prior to the 2021-22 season.

Minnesota’s resurgence can be attributed in large part to the play of four Gophers, Dawson Garcia, Cameron Christie, Elijah Hawkins, and Parker Fox. The latter three players were all new to Ben Johnson’s lineup this season, in one way or another. All four, including super senior Parker Fox, still have eligibility remaining next season and all four were recognized by the Big Ten on Tuesday.

Dawson Garcia (Jr) : All-Big Ten – 2nd Team

Dawson Garcia earned a spot on the All-Big Ten Second Team as voted by media members, while also securing a spot on the All-Big Ten Third Team as voted by coaches. The Prior Lake native wrapped up his second season with the Gophers after transferring from Marquette and North Carolina to play closer to home. Garcia posted impressive averages of 17.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game this season.

Elijah Hawkins (Jr.): All-Big Ten – Honorable Mention

Elijah Hawkins, the Gophers starting point guard, made a strong impression in the Big Ten this season and received an honorable mention. In his first year with the Gophers after transferring from Howard, the diminutive point guard showcased his exceptional passing abilities over and over and over and over and over…

The Washington DC product set a University of Minnesota program record with 17 assists in a single game, earlier this year, and broke the all-time single-season assists record, with 224 (and climbing), too. Hawkins averaged 9.4 points and 7.5 assists per game. All that production and only an honorable mention? The aforementioned Dawson Garcia isn’t happy about that.

Related: Gophers #1 Team in Nation Against the Spread and Oddsmakers are Dumbfounded

Cameron Christie (Fr.) : Big Ten All-Freshman Team

Cameron Christie had a standout season and emerged as one of the top freshmen in the conference, earning a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. Christie showcased his talent by starting in 23 games this season, averaging 11.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in his debut season with the Gophers.

Related: Gophers Beat Jamison Battleโ€™s Buckeyes

Parker Fox (Sr.) : Big Ten Sportsmanship Award

Parker Fox, who bleeds maroon and gold, was honored for his sportsmanship. Fox, who played high school basketball at Mahtomedi before committing to Northern State and later transferring to the Gophers, overcame injury setbacks that sidelined him for two seasons.

This season, he finally had the chance to showcase his talent and undoubtedly brought a contagious energy to the locker room. Fox averaged 4.7 points and 3.1 rebounds per game.

]]> Tue, 12 Mar 2024 14:38:31 +0000 Minnesota Gophers Basketball Gophers MBB Surprisingly Impressive to Start Season https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-basketball/gophers-mbb-impressive-to-start-season/ Sat, 11 Nov 2023 13:08:55 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=44899 The Minnesota Gophers men’s basketball team, which was unanimously picked to finish at the very bottom of the Big Ten this season, is off to a 2-0 start.

Of course, it’s a small sample size so I’m not trying to get too far ahead of myself, but I’ve watched both games, and most of their exhibition last week, and I’m telling you… this team might be worth paying attention to.

Minnesota Gophers dominate first two games

Neither of Minnesota’s first two mid-major opponents, Bethune-Cookman and Texas San Antonio, are Big Ten caliber teams. But sometimes, it’s not about the win, itself, as much as it is the way you get it done.

Unlike what we’ve seen in Ben Johnson’s first two seasons as head coach, the Gophers have done exactly what a power-5 conference team should do to smaller schools that are being paid to, in theory, get their asses kicked at The Barn.

Related: Gophers Ink Their Future Point Guard Isaac Asuma on National Signing Day

Minnesota led both games wire to wire and have outscored their small-school opponents by a total of 46 points. They’ve looked bigger, faster, stronger, more athletic and better coached.

In theory, that’s what should happen. But in reality, bottom-feeder Big Ten teams do not usually dominate lower-conference competition like the Gophers have, early on.

In fact, four Big Ten teams (one ranked in the national top-10) — Ohio State, (4) Michigan State, Maryland and Rutgers — have already lost to mid-major opponents and the 2023-24 NCAA men’s basketball season isn’t even a week old yet.

Gophers MBB Blossoming Talent and Healthy Roster

The biggest difference for the Minnesota Gophers men’s basketball team this year, that the experts and oddsmakers may have overlooked, is health. One reason why Ben Johnsons’s first two seasons have been so bad is because they lost two of their best talents, Isaiah Ihnen and Parker Fox, to season-ending knee injuries in both years.

On Friday night, Ihned scored 20 points in just 19 minutes, shooting a perfect 7/7 from the floor, including 5/5 from deep. Both players have logged over 15 minutes each game and have made a noticeable difference on both sides of the floor. Everything about the Gophers, so far, has looked much more Big Ten like.

Then, there’s Dawson Garcia, who looks on his way to cinch 1st Team conference honors, if he stays healthy. He’s scored a total of 55 points, grabbed 20 rebounds and dished 9 assists through two games. But, I could go on and on.

Transfer point guard, Elijah Hawkins, looks 100% like he can handle the step up in competition, after two years at Howard University, this year and brings a perfect true PG veteran presence to the lineup. True freshman Cam Christie might be the most exciting part of the entire roster.

Related: Do Not Rule Eric Musselman Out as Next Gophers MBB Coach

He missed game one due to an illness but, on Friday night, scored 18 points off the bench, in his college debut, with 4 assists and 3 rebounds to go on top. I’m just telling you, man. My eyes don’t lie. I know a good Gophers team when I see one and this looks like it could be that, though two games.

They will get a power-5 test next week, when they host the Missouri Tigers (SEC) at The Barn on November 16.

]]> Sat, 11 Nov 2023 07:14:19 +0000 Minnesota Gophers Basketball Parker Fox Ruled Out for 2022-23 Season https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-basketball/parker-fox-ruled-out-for-2022-23-season-minnesota-gophers-mbb/ Wed, 22 Jun 2022 21:00:20 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=39394 Minnesota basketball fans across Gopher nation held their collective breath on Wednesday. They were hoping and praying for a miracle, regarding the knee injury Parker Fox suffered earlier in the week. Unfortunately, when an update on Fox’s right knee came this afternoon, the news wasn’t positive.

Fox will miss all of 2022-23, the second straight season that he’s succumbed to such a fate. Ben Johnson and the Minnesota Gophers’ athletic department released the update on Parker, via the official GopherSports.com website. Here is a statement from the head coach.

Ben Johnson Statement

“We’re obviously disappointed for Parker, especially for how hard he worked to get back on the court this year,” head coachย Ben Johnsonย said. “We’re here to support him in any way we can as he moves forward in this recovery process.”

Parker Fox was expected to take on a heavy workload this season, for the new-look Minnesota Gophers. Now, Ben Johnson will look to the transfer portal and/or freshman, Josh Ola Joseph (Osseo, MN), to carry what Fox’s knee no longer can.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

]]> Wed, 22 Jun 2022 16:00:23 +0000 Minnesota Gophers Basketball Parker Fox Suffers Knee Injury at Practice https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-basketball/parker-fox-suffers-knee-injury-at-practice-minnesota-gophers-mbb/ Tue, 21 Jun 2022 18:13:17 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=39362 The Minnesota Gophers men’s basketball team entered their 2022 summer workouts expecting big things from Parker Fox, a super Junior who missed all of 2021-22, after tearing his left ACL last offseason. Unfortunately, it appears as though deja vu may have hit Fox and Ben Johnson’s Gophers.

Johnson told media on Tuesday that it’s Parker’s right knee and the injury happened at practice on Monday. We do not yet know the specifics or Fox’s timetable for return.

Parker Fox is a Mahtomedi, MN native. He spent the first two season of his college basketball career jumping over division-II talent at Northern State University. Fox averaged over 22 points and 9 rebounds per game as a Sophomore. That garnered him dozens of offers from power five schools, when he entered the transfer portal in 2021. Fox chose to come home and help build Ben Johnson’s culture but knee injuries have, so far, derailed that dream.

Entering this season, Parker Fox still has two years of eligibility remaining. If this injury is significant, it would be a huge loss for Ben Johnson’s Minnesota Gophers basketball program and a brutal setback to stomach for the 23 y/o hometown kid.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

]]> Tue, 21 Jun 2022 14:33:48 +0000 Minnesota Gophers Basketball Gophers MBB Hometown Transfer Commit Parker Fox to Miss Season with Torn ACL https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-basketball/minnesota-gophers-mbb-hometown-transfer-commitment-parker-fox-to-miss-season-with-torn-acl/ Mon, 17 May 2021 20:27:46 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=35062

Sports fans aren’t allowed to have nice things in the state of Minnesota. That was proven again recently, when transfer forward Parker Fox suffered a knee injury (ACL tear) that’s expected to keep him off of the active Gopher men’s basketball roster for the upcoming 2021-22 season. This is yet another step back for new head coach, Ben Johnson, who’s already having a hell of a time filling a roster that’s lost everyone from last season who’s not named Isaiah Ihnen.

I first saw this reported in the Pioneer Press but hadn’t had time to blog about it yet today. You can read more about Parker Fox HERE. I’m a bit confused as to why this is just coming out now, when it obviously happened weeks ago. Hell. the surgery was 20 days ago. He only committed about 33-ish days ago so that is just classically awful Minnesota sports timing.

What’s next?

Hopefully, Fox can get a medical redshirt and be eligible in 22-23. Still, this is a dude whose game is built on highlight-reel athleticism so we’ll see what the future holds.

Anyway, Ben Johnson now goes on the hunt for more wing players, along with the help he needs on the ball and down low. Hopefully June visits can spur the market. It’ll be perfect weather and the Gophers will need all the help they can get. Right now, the roster holds just seven players who are currently eligible, since Peyton Willis will need a waiver to be eligible immediately.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

]]> Thu, 01 Jul 2021 14:31:54 +0000 Minnesota Gophers Basketball Parker Fox Chooses Hometown Gophers Out of Transfer Portal https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-basketball/parker-fox-chooses-hometown-minnesota-gophers-out-of-transfer-portal/ Fri, 16 Apr 2021 00:52:07 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=34486

Life following the Minnesota Gophers men’s basketball team since Ben Johnson was hired has been a whirlwind. They’ve suffered more than a handful of transfer portal exits and they’ve rebounded with their own portal prizes. Their latest pick up is a guy who’s been sought after for weeks now and has heard from over 100 different schools. His name is Parker Fox and he’s spent his last two years dominated the division II level at Northern State.

But Fox narrowed his list down to eight teams in early April before picking the Gophers tonight over other finalists that included Ohio State, Florida State, Creighton and Vanderbilt. This is a big win for Ben Johnson and his staff.

About Parker Fox

I wrote about Fox awhile back and what he could bring to the Gophers. He’s a Mahtomedi native who gets after rims like they made fun of him back in high school. He’ll be an exciting addition to a roster that currently has just over a handful of players for 2021. It’s too early to say where Fox will end up in the lineup when the dust settles on this transfer class.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

]]> Thu, 01 Jul 2021 14:31:56 +0000 Minnesota Gophers Basketball