What can we expect from Isaiah Ihnen/Parker Fox next season?

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I think what we can expect from Parker Fox has a lot more to do with his health than his 20-21 stats.
If he is healthy I would expect a junkyard dog rebounder and defender more than scoring. We could use that!
 


If healthy, they will both help quite a bit. They both play with a kind of grit that will definitely compliment a guy like Garcia. They're both pretty active, they both seem like they rebound.

I'm hoping that Fox is what we wanted Omersa to turn into. A high-energy post player who gets a lot of garbage stats (put backs, transition points, etc.). Ihnen is a bit harder to is a good athlete, has good size, and at moments even looks pretty skilled. I'm hoping he can provide good defense and rebounding.

They are both important pieces for next year. Hopefully, they backfill some of the grit we lose when Payne goes to the bench and work to minimize Garcia's shortcomings. Garcia is extremely talented. There just are not many people as tall as him who are skilled in the entire world but some of the things he doesn't do as well, are their strengths.

If healthy, I'm really hoping the overwhelming vast majority of their minutes are at the 4/5.
 

bga1 said:
I think what we can expect from Parker Fox has a lot more to do with his health than his 20-21 stats.
If he is healthy I would expect a junkyard dog rebounder and defender more than scoring. We could use that!
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If we can get rebounding out of him, that would be awesome. Considering last year's team often played 4 forwards at a time, the rebounding differentials were terrible. They were so slow that they often conceded the offensive rebound opportunity to run down to the defensive end to get back in time to not get burned by a faster team. If he can provide reliable rebounding and defense when he's playing, I'd say that's a win.
 





gopherbadgerman said:
Personally I’m not expecting much. Hopefully I’ll be surprised and they are contributing players, but as of now I have no expectations of much out of either of them.
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Same. Expect little, and be happy with anything beyond that. Personally, I find the expectations for two players who have not seen the floor in almost three years being anything more than minimal to be completely unrealistic.
 



SelectionSunday said:
Interesting question.

What I hope is both will be functional, in-the-rotation contributors.

What I expect (law of averages?) is only one will be a true difference-maker. ... roughly defining "difference-maker" as a guy who plays at least 20-25 mpg.
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I'm thinking the law of averages might even be a bit optimistic on this one.
 



Expect? Almost impossible to say until we see them on the court. It all depends on what level of athleticism they provide - and also how they are used.

It may be somewhat of a long shot, but there's at least a chance. Twins prospect Royce Lewis is coming off 2 ACL's and he's looking good in Triple-A.

If they're both healthy, I would give Fox better odds of being a contributor.
 



TonyLiebert said:
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Thank you for the research on your headline. I appreciate the interviews with Ben, all the asst coaches, their teammates, and the interviews with Ihnen and Fox. Your observations from the pickup games in the gym was encouraging. Thanks! Keep up the good work!
 

gopherbadgerman said:
Personally I’m not expecting much. Hopefully I’ll be surprised and they are contributing players, but as of now I have no expectations of much out of either of them.
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Well he did have in excess of 50 D1 offers out of the portal. So there were at least 50 programs expected something out of him.
 

Classof 66 said:
Well he did have in excess of 50 D1 offers out of the portal. So there were at least 50 programs expected something out of him.
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Don't get me wrong, I love the Grayson Grove signing. But to be honest is it harder to be a star at Alexandria High School in the Arrowhead conference? Or to be the best player in all of Division 2 basketball? Of 304 D2 basketball programs. Fox had 22.3 points 9.9 rebounds per game with 55 assists, 74 blocks and 80 dunks his Junior year. Playing a game at St. Cloud State he had 21 points and 21 rebounds. (maybe more than one could expect from Grayson at this point in his development).

What I really liked from his signing was a quote by one of the leaders on his team, guard Andrew Kallman said - "To have someone with his level of skill is huge. It makes everyone else look better...He brings a ton of energy to the floor and his intensity is next level for sure."

Saul Phillips his D2 Coach; He is our swagger. ..dunking all over the place. He's a leader, a transcendent player. He absolutely changes the game every time he steps on the floor and you can't say that about many people. You can see with his athleticism that he is a freak of nature, it is definitely different from anything I have experienced in the past." By the way Saul Phillips spent 5 years as head coach at Ohio University (best year 23-12) and 8 years as head coach at North Dakota State where he was 134-84. (best season 26-7) At North Dakota State he won Summit League twice and was in NCAA tournament twice. He was Summit League coach of the year in 2009 and 2013.

Another guard on that team was Mason Stark who said, "It is incredible to be on this team and play with Parker Fox. He makes it easier." Both of these guards went to D1 teams through the portal - Andrew was a minor role player at North Dakota State and Mason started 21 games at Northern Arizona playing against Arizona, Washington, Gonzaga among others.

Anyway, all I am saying is that there is some hope if he physically recovers that he could contribute. "Not expecting much" and"no expectations" may be little overly pessimistic for Parker Fox.
 

Classof 66 said:
Don't get me wrong, I love the Grayson Grove signing. But to be honest is it harder to be a star at Alexandria High School in the Arrowhead conference? Or to be the best player in all of Division 2 basketball? Of 304 D2 basketball programs. Fox had 22.3 points 9.9 rebounds per game with 55 assists, 74 blocks and 80 dunks his Junior year. Playing a game at St. Cloud State he had 21 points and 21 rebounds. (maybe more than one could expect from Grayson at this point in his development).

What I really liked from his signing was a quote by one of the leaders on his team, guard Andrew Kallman said - "To have someone with his level of skill is huge. It makes everyone else look better...He brings a ton of energy to the floor and his intensity is next level for sure."

Saul Phillips his D2 Coach; He is our swagger. ..dunking all over the place. He's a leader, a transcendent player. He absolutely changes the game every time he steps on the floor and you can't say that about many people. You can see with his athleticism that he is a freak of nature, it is definitely different from anything I have experienced in the past." By the way Saul Phillips spent 5 years as head coach at Ohio University (best year 23-12) and 8 years as head coach at North Dakota State where he was 134-84. (best season 26-7) At North Dakota State he won Summit League twice and was in NCAA tournament twice. He was Summit League coach of the year in 2009 and 2013.

Another guard on that team was Mason Stark who said, "It is incredible to be on this team and play with Parker Fox. He makes it easier." Both of these guards went to D1 teams through the portal - Andrew was a minor role player at North Dakota State and Mason started 21 games at Northern Arizona playing against Arizona, Washington, Gonzaga among others.

Anyway, all I am saying is that there is some hope if he physically recovers that he could contribute. "Not expecting much" and"no expectations" may be little overly pessimistic for Parker Fox.
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Was Fox a star after his junior year of high school? That would seem to be a more accurate comparison. If memory serves, Fox was redshirted as a freshman.
Guess I’m not understanding why you are comparing the two players. ( I’m a little slow on figuring it out it seems.)
 

You shouldn't expect anything after 2 major knee injuries. Anything either player can contribute should be looked at as found money.
 


We need Fox and Ihnen to be able to play like the extraordinary athletes they are. I have no idea if that is going to happen but one ACL is bad and two lowers the odds of recovery dramatically. Be awesome for those guys and the Gophers if it could happen that they are productive consistent performers. They deserve some good fortune!
 

I hope they can contribute, but im afraid they won't be able too. I'd say combined, maybe something like 7 ppg and 5 rpg.
 


Gophers7633 said:
I hope they can contribute, but im afraid they won't be able too. I'd say combined, maybe something like 7 ppg and 5 rpg.
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Who cares about how many points and rebounds? We have to know how many minutes at how many positions!!! The whole season will pivot on that predicted minutia. As one of our basketball gods you have let us know.
 

Rockraven said:
Who cares about how many points and rebounds? We have to know how many minutes at how many positions!!! The whole season will pivot on that predicted minutia. As one of our basketball gods you have let us know.
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If they play at all, I'd like them to be productive. I have my doubts, so hopefully they can. We'll be super thin if they give us nothing.
 

A low level of pertinent information will raise doubts. Fans understandably don't like doubts. Facing that we each choose to be hopeful or pessimistic. Hang in there. This year will shock and please the pessimistic. Go Gophers.
 

Gophers7633 said:
If they play at all, I'd like them to be productive. I have my doubts, so hopefully they can. We'll be super thin if they give us nothing.
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You were probably confused by Pilgrim's post, he is still just having a hissy fit about a one off comment three weeks ago. He's been wrong about everything for two years, so he is a bit on tilt.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
You were probably confused by Pilgrim's post, he is still just having a hissy fit about a one off comment three weeks ago. He's been wrong about everything for two years, so he is a bit on tilt.
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You have to admit that was a real goofy post you made. You are usually much better on sports than you have been since you fell into the CBJ funk. You’re knowledgeable and a true Gopher fan. Pull yourself out of it, man.

BTW, there are under the radar reports that Ihnen and Fox are looking good. We will see. We need Fox’s skill set this year. It is up to Ihnen to prove his value this year but he best fits our positions of strength.
 


60's Guy said:
We need Fox and Ihnen to be able to play like the extraordinary athletes they are. I have no idea if that is going to happen but one ACL is bad and two lowers the odds of recovery dramatically. Be awesome for those guys and the Gophers if it could happen that they are productive consistent performers. They deserve some good fortune!
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Pretty sure that anybody who's closely watched, or better yet, coached basketball for many years, has at least a couple of stories about players who suffered major knee injuries.

I have a couple that span the possibilities. About 10 years ago, watched a female who was very explosive blow up her ACL. She came back at about 85% a little over a year later. She was still good enough to play, but had lost the explosiveness that had made her a difference maker.

3 years ago, watched a very athletic 6'10" post blow up his ACL in mid-Jan. By the time practice started the following Oct., you would have never known he'd been injured. Was actually running and moving better than before his injury. I believe he's still playing in Australia these days. The point is, every knee injury and every person is different.

I guess if somebody is really looking for hope in the ability to come back from an ACL, we could look to Royce Lewis of the Twins, who is coming back his 2nd injury to the same knee and all reports indicate that he hasn't lost a thing.

Like I said, and I think we all know, every situation is different when it comes to knee injuries.
 

Rockraven said:
You have to admit that was a real goofy post you made. You are usually much better on sports than you have been since you fell into the CBJ funk. You’re knowledgeable and a true Gopher fan. Pull yourself out of it, man.

BTW, there are under the radar reports that Ihnen and Fox are looking good. We will see. We need Fox’s skill set this year. It is up to Ihnen to prove his value this year but he best fits our positions of strength.
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Bga literally asked me to break down the minutes. He literally said "do the whole roster". Of all of the things you've posted (rape apology, obsession over wingspans, changing screen names, illuminati taking down Gopher sports, demanding people pay HS athletes, pretending to be launching a midwest NIL program for Gophers, etc.) and you think talking about what positions a player on the basketball team can play is goofy? You don't live in reality.

On one hand, I'm happy that they're looking good. On the other hand, I hate that I'm hearing that from you. You obviously don't have any insight and I've never seen you get anything right. Anything. Ever.
 

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