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GoldenMAV30266 said:
I think I heard someone say something about January? But unless the gophers are on an absolute tear, and have a chance at the dance, I would medically redshirt him and have him for 2 years with a more talented roster.
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I mean....our next three games are non-conference games against Texas A&M CC, Green Bay, and Alcorn State. The latter two have a combined three wins. There's no reason to think that this team won't be 11-1 going into the new year when we pick back up Big Ten play.

If Parker Fox is ready to go in January (sometime).....I can't imagine him not getting on the floor. Willis, Curry, Loewe, Daniels, Stephens, and Sutherlin are all seniors. I can't imagine Ben Johnson not putting the best team on the court. Especially now that the team looks like they'll compete.
 

stocker08 said:
I mean....our next three games are non-conference games against Texas A&M CC, Green Bay, and Alcorn State. The latter two have a combined three wins. There's no reason to think that this team won't be 11-1 going into the new year when we pick back up Big Ten play.

If Parker Fox is ready to go in January (sometime).....I can't imagine him not getting on the floor. Willis, Curry, Loewe, Daniels, Stephens, and Sutherlin are all seniors. I can't imagine Ben Johnson not putting the best team on the court. Especially now that the team looks like they'll compete.
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If they can go 2-1 vs Illinois, Indiana and the MSU rematch then I’d get behind it. I just think as a coach you have to look at the future as much as the present. Also there’s no guarantee Fox will be in basketball shape or game ready.

A senior class of Fox, Ihnen and Battle would be nasty
 

Bad Gopher said:
Although this may not be as easy a job as some might think, it's also not as difficult as some recent occupants of the position have made it look.
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Your point is clear but no comparison between this team and past. Big Ten COY Johnson was looking at a roster with two returning players and one incoming freshman. From there he saw his best returning player and third best new transfer go down with season-ending injuries walking around the gym before practice started.

Hard to imagine anyone from Izzo on down scrabbling together a semi-roster in a short time and fielding a remotely playable team let alone a tough, disciplined, competitive team in BIG conference.

Ben's work has been beyond all belief.
 

Unregistered User said:
Damn, you just can’t be happy, can you?
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Look at the bright side if they had more assists, and had more help in could hace led to more points and possibly bigger margin of victory. As the coach said there are areas they need to improve.
 

BarnBurner said:
You set the stage, champ. Culture. Not wins.
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You might consider culture - hard work on defense, disciplined and smart play, unselfishness etc. - as contributors to winning. They are hand-in-hand, not two separate things.

And that is the stage, chump.
 


MNVCGUY said:
Lol. Just got a 10 point road win over a team you said would beat us by 20.

you are really working hard to find ways to be negative about this team. Just enjoy the season, much more fun that way.
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Read my post where I ate crow. Gophers were impressive but always needs to improve in various aspects.
 


GoldenMAV30266 said:
If they can go 2-1 vs Illinois, Indiana and the MSU rematch then I’d get behind it. I just think as a coach you have to look at the future as much as the present. Also there’s no guarantee Fox will be in basketball shape or game ready.

A senior class of Fox, Ihnen and Battle would be nasty
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If Fox is the player that we think he may be....then I don't see any situation where he doesn't get on the floor when ready. There are a lot of guys on this team that won't play meaningful basketball beyond this year, and it think it sends a bad sign to not field your best team.

It really depends on when he's ready to go. If it's early February before he can play....and the team loses six or seven of their eight games in January.....maybe Coach Johnson has a difficult decision to make. But if the Gophers manage to win even three of the eight.....they'll be (assuming no slip ups in these next three) 14-6 (4-6) with a shot to make the tournament. NIT at the very least. There'd be no reason to punt on this year. Coach Johnson managed to put together a pretty damn good team. Adding Fox to the mix could make this team dangerous.
 





Curious why everyone is so high on Fox. He is a D2 transfer, no? I’ll be honest, I know nothing about him other than what I’ve read on these boards. However, everyone was ripping on guys transferring from mid to low D1s. What makes Fox so different?
 

ethomasp31 said:
Yeah man he ate crow....so it doesn’t matter all the things he’s posted the last 8 months....
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4 more victories and they will exceed my win projections too. But then again I admit when I'm wrong.
 




DLib said:
Curious why everyone is so high on Fox. He is a D2 transfer, no? I’ll be honest, I know nothing about him other than what I’ve read on these boards. However, everyone was ripping on guys transferring from mid to low D1s. What makes Fox so different?
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size and athleticism. you can coach guys to do a lot of things. you can't coach them to be taller or to jump higher.

Fox would give them a bigger SF or could give them minutes at PF. He can jump. Should help them with rebounding. Help with matchups against bigger lineups.

oh, and he was a D2 All-American, conference defensive player of the year and won other honors.

the line between divisions is not as big as you may think. St. Thomas jumped from D3 to D1 and they are winning D1 games - admittedly at a lower level - with essentially the same roster that was playing D3 last year.
 

Dakota2 said:
Your point is clear but no comparison between this team and past. Big Ten COY Johnson was looking at a roster with two returning players and one incoming freshman. From there he saw his best returning player and third best new transfer go down with season-ending injuries walking around the gym before practice started.

Hard to imagine anyone from Izzo on down scrabbling together a semi-roster in a short time and fielding a remotely playable team let alone a tough, disciplined, competitive team in BIG conference.

Ben's work has been beyond all belief.
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Honestly....the way Curry has been playing.....I'm not convinced that Ihnen was his best returning player. And while Ihnen is a big guy....Curry is bigger and we don't have a whole lot of size.

But....you make a very good point. While it's still too early....Ben Johnson is making a case for Big Ten COTY.
 

DLib said:
Curious why everyone is so high on Fox. He is a D2 transfer, no? I’ll be honest, I know nothing about him other than what I’ve read on these boards. However, everyone was ripping on guys transferring from mid to low D1s. What makes Fox so different?
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People said the same thing about all the mid major transfers. And it's not like Johnson was the only coach who reached out. Fox was getting plenty of attention from high major programs.

As Fox said, his phone has been blowing up to the point he told 247Sports that he has heard from nearly 100 programs.

"Creighton, Cal-Berkley, Clemson, South Carolina, LSU, St. John's, Xavier, Butler, Arkansas, Nebraska, Vanderbilt, Seton Hall, Texas A&M, TCU, Boston College, Georgetown, New Mexico and Dayton are some of the high majors," he said of the high majors who have been in contact.

www.google.com

Division II standout Parker Fox targeted by high majors

The transfer portal is loaded with names and talent but one transfer you may not have heard about is Division II standout Parker Fox. The 6-foot-8, 210-pound big man out of
www.google.com www.google.com
 


DLib said:
Curious why everyone is so high on Fox. He is a D2 transfer, no? I’ll be honest, I know nothing about him other than what I’ve read on these boards. However, everyone was ripping on guys transferring from mid to low D1s. What makes Fox so different?
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Fox and Battle were the highlights of the guys Ben got to transfer in. Given the returns from all the other far less heralded guys that Johnson brought in how could you not be excited about the prospects of Fox? So far we have a short handed, undersized collection of lower level players that is playing together at a really high level.

Battle has more than lived up to the hype. If Fox is able to do that as well this suddenly becomes a really dangerous team in a year where there were next to no expectations going into it. Long way to go and we have to stay healthy but the prospect of Fox being able to come back got a lot more interesting with the way the season has gone to this point.
 


Picking up on SON's comment, from his video highlights, Fox appears to be extremely athletic and can really get up and down the floor. I don't know how his strengths/weaknesses fit (or don't fit) with what Johnson is trying to do, but unless a top-tier athlete really lacks basketball skills/sense, a team can usually find ways to incorporate that into the system. At the very least, he's another body that bolster a thin bench (even though I believe he's more than that).

Does Fox have two or three years of eligibility? If, like Battle, he has three, I don't know why they would hold him out beyond this recovery.
 

50PoundHead said:
Picking up on SON's comment, from his video highlights, Fox appears to be extremely athletic and can really get up and down the floor. I don't know how his strengths/weaknesses fit (or don't fit) with what Johnson is trying to do, but unless a top-tier athlete really lacks basketball skills/sense, a team can usually find ways to incorporate that into the system. At the very least, he's another body that bolster a thin bench (even though I believe he's more than that).

Does Fox have two or three years of eligibility? If, like Battle, he has three, I don't know why they would hold him out beyond this recovery.
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I think he’s only got 2 left unless he medically redshirts. I could be wrong tho.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Fox and Battle were the highlights of the guys Ben got to transfer in. Given the returns from all the other far less heralded guys that Johnson brought in how could you not be excited about the prospects of Fox? So far we have a short handed, undersized collection of lower level players that is playing together at a really high level.

Battle has more than lived up to the hype. If Fox is able to do that as well this suddenly becomes a really dangerous team in a year where there were next to no expectations going into it. Long way to go and we have to stay healthy but the prospect of Fox being able to come back got a lot more interesting with the way the season has gone to this point.
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When Fox entered the portal he had almost every school offering him. He was a D1 talent that just slipped through the cracks
 

short ornery norwegian said:
size and athleticism. you can coach guys to do a lot of things. you can't coach them to be taller or to jump higher.

Fox would give them a bigger SF or could give them minutes at PF. He can jump. Should help them with rebounding. Help with matchups against bigger lineups.

oh, and he was a D2 All-American, conference defensive player of the year and won other honors.

the line between divisions is not as big as you may think. St. Thomas jumped from D3 to D1 and they are winning D1 games - admittedly at a lower level - with essentially the same roster that was playing D3 last year.
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Doesn’t matter if it’s lower level wins. D3 to D2 is incredible, but to D1 is almost unheard of. For football AND basketball
 

MNVCGUY said:
Fox and Battle were the highlights of the guys Ben got to transfer in. Given the returns from all the other far less heralded guys that Johnson brought in how could you not be excited about the prospects of Fox? So far we have a short handed, undersized collection of lower level players that is playing together at a really high level.

Battle has more than lived up to the hype. If Fox is able to do that as well this suddenly becomes a really dangerous team in a year where there were next to no expectations going into it. Long way to go and we have to stay healthy but the prospect of Fox being able to come back got a lot more interesting with the way the season has gone to this point.
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Ben Johnson is playing with house money right now. If he can manage to turn this hodgepodge group into a tournament team....that's a tremendous accomplishment....and something that he'll be able to sell to recruits. I understand maybe wanting to have Fox for two years beyond this year.....but this is looking less like a throwaway year than many of us thought it would be. Could very well expedite the building process. Who knows....maybe it's something that Johnson will use to pull in another couple impact transfers next year.
 

DLib said:
...everyone was ripping on guys transferring from mid to low D1s. What makes Fox so different?
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Maybe he is a lot better now than he was when he was 18 y/o. A good D1 coach can probably tell if he is.

In local football I recall that Adam Thielen and CJ Ham "transferred" from D2 football to the NFL.
 

DLib said:
Curious why everyone is so high on Fox. He is a D2 transfer, no? I’ll be honest, I know nothing about him other than what I’ve read on these boards. However, everyone was ripping on guys transferring from mid to low D1s. What makes Fox so different?
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Perhaps because he was one of the very best players in DII.
 

Dakota2 said:
You might consider culture - hard work on defense, disciplined and smart play, unselfishness etc. - as contributors to winning. They are hand-in-hand, not two separate things.

And that is the stage, chump.
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You might consider wins. Wins are what matters. Lack of em gets coaches fired. Lots of em gets coaches huge $$.
I dont really remember the winning NCAA championship teams postgame speeches lauding culture.

Champ.
 

MNVCGUY said:
I offended him by having the audacity to suggest this team won’t ultimately be judged by their W/L record.
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With every win, and especially after this start, they WILL, indeed, be judged by the W-L record. No meltdowns allowed with this start.
 

BarnBurner said:
You might consider wins. Wins are what matters. Lack of em gets coaches fired. Lots of em gets coaches huge $$.
I dont really remember the winning NCAA championship teams postgame speeches lauding culture.

Champ.
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How is the team doing on wins?
 


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