Texas Tech basketball: Red Raiders offer high-scoring Division II forward

The Texas Tech basketball team needs to beef up its offensive talent level this offseason.  That’s no revelatory statement.

So to try to remedy the program’s biggest shortcoming, the Red Raiders are pursuing Parker Fox, a 6-foot-8 forward who played last year at Northern State, a Division II school.  Now before you roll your eyes at the idea of recruiting a Division II athlete, know that he also holds offers from the likes of Creighton, Cal-Berkley, Clemson, Ohio State, Florida State, South Carolina, LSU, St. John’s, Xavier, Butler, Arkansas, Nebraska, Vanderbilt, Seton Hall, Texas A&M, TCU, Boston College, Georgetown, New Mexico, and Dayton just to name a few.

It’s not hard to understand why this lower-level star is now one of the hottest names in the transfer portal.  That’s because he averaged 22.3 points and 9.9 rebounds per game this past season.

What’s more, he’s also a strong defensive player.  In 2019-20 he was named the NSIC Defensive Player of the Year.

But it is his offense that Tech needs most.  Shooting a ridiculous 64.4% from the field this past season, Fox is extremely efficient.   He gets almost all of his points from inside the arc though as he was just 5-20 from 3-point range in 2020-21.

Adding a player at the forward position will be of critical importance for Mark Adams and Co. this offseason.  That’s because it is highly likely that Tech will lose Terrence Shannon Jr. to the NBA Draft and Micah Peavy is in the transfer portal.

Therefore, Fox could fill a tremendous need for the Red Raiders and serve as a fantastic insurance policy should Tech lose both Shannon and Peavy.  However, landing him might be tough, especially being as his home state school is in the mix.

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Fox is a Minnesota native and it is believed that he covets an opportunity to play for the Golden Gophers, who, like Texas Tech, are breaking in a new coaching staff this offseason.  What’s more, Fox released his top eight schools of Minnesota, Vanderbilt, TCU, Ohio State, Dayton, Creighton, Florida State, and San Diego State on April 3rd meaning that Tech has some ground to make up if they want to land Fox.

Thus, it would appear that Tech is a bit late to this party and it may mean that Fox is just a pipe dream.  Still, this will be an interesting recruiting battle to watch.

That’s because the pursuit of Fox will give us some indication as to how well this new coaching staff can recruit.  Even if Fox ends up elsewhere, should he seriously consider the Red Raiders and even take a virtual visit, it would be an indication that Adams and his still to be completed staff can compete for top talent on the recruiting trail, which is one of the greatest concerns about the new Red Raider head man.

So keep an eye on Parker Fox and his recruitment.  Though Tech is a bit late to this party, should the Red Raiders become serious players in this battle, it will be an encouraging sign about how well the new coaching staff can recruit, which is the most important aspect of building any program.