Gophers senior Parker Fox finds quick success in scrimmage after a very long wait

Before last Saturday's closed scrimmage at Colorado State, Gophers senior Parker Fox checked for text messages from his parents about how proud they were he was back playing again.

The 6-8 forward from Mahtomedi committed to Ben Johnson's program in 2021 but suffered two season-ending knee injuries and had never actually played for the Gophers.

No fans or media were allowed to attend the scrimmage. The score ended up being heavily one-sided in Colorado State's favor, from all accounts, but Fox just saw the experience as a big accomplishment for how far he's come.

"A lot of emotions went through my head and flooded me," Fox said Friday. "The one feeling that popped up was disbelief. I can't believe I got back here. I can't believe I was able to do this."

Fox was one of the U standouts during the scrimmage, along with the returning scoring leader Dawson Garcia. After coming off the bench, Fox, the former Division II All-America at Northern State (S.D.), said playing well helped to calm his nerves.

"I'm proud of myself for getting through what I got through," Fox said. "I subbed into the game and scored a bucket right away. I was like … 'We're back, let's go. I can still play basketball.' "

Also playing his first game action Saturday vs. an opponent in two years was junior Isaiah Ihnen, who recovered from two knee surgeries. He's the longest tenured Gopher, last playing under Richard Pitino in 2020-21.

"[Fox] looked extremely comfortable out there doing what he does," Ihnen said. "For me, there was definitely a sense of being nervous. That feeling of, 'This was my first time playing against other people again.' The first couple minutes of the game I definitely felt that. As the game went on, I got more comfortable. Glad I got those jitters out."

The scrimmage started off with the Gophers getting behind big early, but they were more competitive during stretches as the game went on.

Freshman Cameron Christie was sick during the week and missed the scrimmage. Christie, who is expected to play major minutes for the Gophers this season, said he'll play in Thursday's exhibition game vs. Macalester at Williams Arena.

"It was definitely tough to miss the scrimmage, but I'm a lot better now," Christie said. "Staying healthy is one of the most important things. I want to be out there for my teammates."

Redshirt freshman Kadyn Betts, who is from Pueblo, Colo., got to return to his home state for the scrimmage. Betts, a four-star recruit who redshirted last season, is looking forward to making an impact.

"The experience was good just going out there playing against another school," Betts said. "It will be great to show all my hard work paying off."

The U's new backcourt with transfers Elijah Hawkins (Howard) and Mike Mitchell Jr. (Pepperdine) felt like their chemistry grew after playing together for the first time.

"We learned a lot during the scrimmage," Hawkins said. "We took that, learned from it and moved on. So, I feel like we're definitely ready for the season."

Garcia award candidate

Garcia was named Friday to the preseason top 20 watch list for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, given to the top center in college basketball.

The 6-11 junior forward averaged 15.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game last season. He was also named to the All-Big Ten preseason team earlier this month.