Parker Fox provides energy and a spark to Gophers

Forward has a knack for making momentum-changing hustle plays.

After the Gophers men’s basketball team turned the ball over in the first half of Tuesday night’s game against Michigan State, Parker Fox hustled back on defense, swatted Tyson Walker’s shot attempt in transition and gave a Dikembe Mutombo finger wag to the delight of the announced crowd of 8,239 at The Barn. 

Fox has a knack for making those types of hustle plays that provide a spark to the Gophers, even if he isn’t always finding consistent minutes. His usage is reminiscent of how the other basketball team in town, the Minnesota Timberwolves, use point guard Jordan McLaughlin. Both players see their minutes go up and down, but both always seem to be a spark when they do find the court. 

On Tuesday, Fox played 18 minutes — most of which came in the first half when he scored seven points to help the U build an early lead — well above his average of 11.7 minutes per game, and finished his night with eight points, four rebounds and an assist. His fingerprints were all over the U's 59-56 victory over Michigan State.

“You try to find minutes for him, and it’s just hard when you’ve got so many bigs that can do stuff and perform, especially when Dawson (Garcia) and Pharrel (Payne) are playing at such a high level,” Gophers coach Ben Johnson said after the game. “But I have all the confidence in the world in (Fox), and so I just know when I can put him in there, whether it’s for whatever he played, 18 minutes (Tuesday), or if it’s five minutes, he’s gonna do what he does. And he keeps our offense moving. He’s smart, so defensively, he’s gonna make adjustments on his own.”

When Johnson can find minutes for him, he trusts Fox will provide that spark. And Fox routinely delivers. Sometimes the minutes are few. Fox played just five minutes in Saturday's 75-66 victory over Northwestern. Still, he was a perfect 1 for 1 from the floor to finish his day with two points. He'll do whatever it takes to get the win. 

“I just think that I’ve gone through so much, you know, so much worse than not playing minutes and worrying about myself … I’ve been through way worse and I’ve worked too hard to let that kinda stuff kind of deteriorate my attitude and my approach,” Fox said.

After transferring to Minnesota from Division II Northern State in 2021, Fox suffered back-to-back ACL tears, sidelining him for two seasons. He's made his long-awaited return this season and has made an impact, despite not always seeing a lot of time on the court. But the minutes do come, and when they do, he makes the most of them.

Fox played 19 minutes in the Gophers' 83-74 victory over Penn State on Jan. 27 and finished with 11 points, three rebounds and swatted one Nittany Lions attempt after another, racking up four blocks on the night. 

Fox, a Mahtomedi native, grew up a Gophers basketball fan and would often go to games. Back then, he did what he could to bring energy from the crowd. Now, he's bringing that energy from the court and appreciating that energy from the crowd.

"I'm an emotional guy, wear my heart on my sleeve and I play with a lot of emotion," Fox said. "But I think that benefits me in the best way, I feed off the crowd. ... I love to give that back. I think it's so much bigger than me, it's so much bigger than our team, it's the reason why I came here. It's the reason why I decided to come back home and build something special, and the more people getting in the doors, the better."