Gophers forward Parker Fox brings ‘life’ in his eighth year of college basketball

Parker Fox went through most of last season thinking it was the end.

After all, the Gophers forward had overcome two devastating knee injuries and was in his seventh overall year of college basketball.

“Alright, that’s enough,” Fox recalled thinking.

But a few days after he turned 25 years old in late February, his body felt great during a road game at Nebraska, and that’s when he started to think about using his fourth season of eligibility across his eight years. He mentioned the percolating thought to assistant coach Dave Thorson, but played as if his collegiate career was going to end last March.

After the season, Fox still felt the itch to play and head coach Ben Johnson wanted him back, so the Mahtomedi native will return to Williams Arena for the U’s season opener against Oral Roberts at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

The Gophers underwent another massive roster overhaul in the offseason, with seven new transfers and two true freshmen joining two returning starters, one backup and one indispensable off-the-bench glue guy in Fox.

Fans at The Barn loved Fox’s smart and impassioned play last season, and he, in turn, would hype them up even more during games. Johnson called him a “do-whatever-it-takes guy,” who knows his skillset and how to best impact winning.

“He gives you that life, that energy, that spark,” Johnson said. “You have to have that at some point in your lineup.”

Fox did things at the end of last season that indicated he was done, participating in Senior Day against Indiana in early March and kissing the floor at the end of the game. “Those classic last-hurrah deals,” he said.

Fox was trying to read the (locker) room.

“You don’t want to overstay your welcome, not that I thought I was,” Fox said in October. “But at some point you’re like, I will be 26 (in February) and there’s 18-year-olds, 17-year-olds walking in the gym. What do we have in common?” ”

But he also saw who was leaving — and staying — in the locker room. Starting point guard Elijah Hawkins transferred to Texas Tech, and starting center Pharrel Payne transferred to Texas A&M. Name, image and likeness (NIL) deals played a factor in both exits.

Starting shooting guard Cam Christie was picked in the second round of the NBA draft by the Los Angeles Clippers.

“It stinks,” Fox said. “Especially a point guard like Elijah, who really set the table for us. Pharrell, who is our main man inside, and then, obviously, Cam on the wing, goes to the NBA. You can’t fault any of that kind of stuff.”

But all-Big Ten forward Dawson Garcia and starting guard Mike Mitchell remained at Minnesota for their final seasons.

“Dawson obviously could have really gone anywhere,” Fox said. “… But just seeing him stay around and be proud of it and want to be here, that helped me kind of turn that corner. And my family wanted it for me. I wanted it for myself.”

Fox was brought in as a transfer from Division II Northern State in Aberdeen, S.D., to play two seasons. “I think he probably felt a little cheated, in his mind,” Johnson said.

Fox started college during 2017-18 season, but redshirted that year. He then played three seasons, from 2018-21, but one year didn’t count against his eligibility due to the pandemic. Then he had two years lost to knee injuries, in 2021-22, and is believed to have had two medical hardship waivers before playing last season. So, this will count as his fourth year on the court.

Johnson will look for Fox to be a “point forward” when he is on the floor, and his playing time could go up, especially if Canisius transfer forward Frank Mitchell is out long with the shoulder injury he suffered in the Hamline exhibition game a week ago.

Fox played 14 minutes per game across 34 contests (one start) a season ago, averaging 5.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, 0.8 blocks and 0.5 steals per game.

Off the court, the loquacious Fox is establishing himself as a media personality in podcasts and appearances on KFAN, but he still loves basketball and the U of M.

“You don’t get to do this forever,” he said. “So why not do it for one more?”