Patience was always the word when it came to Tacko Fall.
Here was a still relatively raw 7-foot-6 center playing basketball for just the fourth year in his life at a high level with guys ready and willing to push and poke him every game. He was going to have to dig in and fight every game and work to get better.
Even in practice, Justin McBride and Staphon Blair could get physical with him and push him to a higher level.
There was certainly a curiosity factor when it came to him. How often does anyone see a 7-foot-6 center lining up on the floor?
It was always going to be a slow development for him though. A process in growth for a player still finding his way as a basketball player.
The end of his season showed exactly what he can continue to grow into. And whoever becomes the new coach at UCF will have an interesting player to continue building around and growing with in Fall.
“I felt like we saw two different teams because, the first time we played, Tacko wasn’t nearly the factor he became later in the year,” Tulane coach Ed Conroy said after last week’s American Conference Tournament victory over UCF. “And I give their coaching staff and I give that young man a ton of credit. It’s been fun to watch him develop. I watched every game on film, and it’s fun to watch him develop. So I credit everybody in their program with that and mostly him.”
Fall averaged 12.8 points per game and 11.0 rebounds per game, finishing the season very strong. He started to look more comfortable in the post and using his height — his greatest tool — to his advantage.
Fall was always going to be a project his freshman year. Former UCF coach Donnie Jones got him plenty of playing time, but he was also cautious not to wear him too much. Fall’s season averages were 7.4 points per game and 5.9 rebounds per game in 17.6 minutes per game. Jones wanted him playing about half the game.
And it was also clear when Fall was in the game, he helped the team. His size alone was a deterrent to drivers coming into the paint and trying to get to the rim. According to Sports-Reference, Fall posted a 6.3 defensive box plus minus. Effectively, the Knights were 6.3 points per 100 possessions better defensively with Fall on the floor than the average player. Fall posted a 25.3 PER.
Those are significant numbers. Fall got better as the season went on and made a clear impact for the Knights.
“I think Tacko really grew,” Jones said. “The speed of the game was the biggest thing he needed to experience. The only way you can experience that is play. He had to see a lot of different thing.s The physicality, obviously, was new, like it is to most freshmen. But I really love the way that he really took coaching, the way he progressed, the way he trusted his teammates. I think that both of them had to learn to play with him and he had to learn to play with them. And you started to see that emerge toward the end of the year.”
Undoubtedly, Fall will be a major asset for the Knights as they look for a new head coach, whoever that might end up being.
There is still plenty of learning to do with Fall too. The Knights never quite got the right balance with Fall on the floor. They never quite found the right identity to keep him involved while still maintaining a solid identity. It is one of the many struggles the Knights had in a disappointing 2016 season.
As a sophomore, UCF will have to figure out how best to use Fall along with B.J. Taylor returning from injury.
His end of season play though should provide some confidence that Fall and the Knights can figure it out and be a good tandem together for the next three years.
“I think that I learned a lot during this season,” Fall said. “Coming in, I only had three years of playing, and I think I came along pretty well. I got to thank my teammates also and the coaches for just staying on me all the time. That helped me come along pretty well.”
