Tacko on weekend menu
Fall part of Basketball Without Borders
CHICAGO — Tacko Fall made it to All-Star Weekend, though not in the way many fans had hoped when they voted him sixth among Eastern Conference frontcourt players in balloting for starters.
The Celtic two-way player even got seven votes from NBA players.
“I was actually scared,” said Fall, who was here as one of the coaches in the league’s Basketball Without Borders camp and to make some promotional appearances. “I was praying for me not to be in the All-Star Game. I mean, it’s all fun and games and I was very appreciative of it, but at the same time there’s so many people that deserve to be there. Especially right now, there’s some people that deserve to be there that are not there. So just imagine if I was voted into the All-Star Game. I would not have felt good about that.
“Hopefully someday I will work hard enough to make it just not through the fan vote.”
Being on the court with the BWB campers was good enough, even if it included standing still while players drove at him in a drill.
“I know,” the 7-foot-6 Fall said. “It’s the most I’ve been dunked on in my career. But, I mean, in a few years, hopefully a lot of them will make it to the NBA, and then we’ll see how it really is.”
Getting more serious, Fall said, “Being here means a lot to me, especially doing this camp last summer back home in Senegal. When they told me they had another camp here, I didn’t hesitate. I said I wanted to be a part of it and just help the youth, especially back home in Africa, and guide them and just teach them whatever I’ve learned so far in my career.
“Absolutely it is my responsibility,” Tacko said in response to a separate question, “especially where I came from, my journey so far and some other people back home that are looking up to us. It’s our duty to pave the way for them, to guide them. For me, it’s a great way to do it.”
Though Fall hasn’t enjoyed the bitter cold here, he’s loving the All-Star hoopla.
“I got here early,” he said.
“I got here (Wednesday) and it’s been quite the experience. I used to watch (the All-Star Game) from the outside, and just being a part of it and seeing how everything works reminds me of how far I’ve come and encourages me to keep working.”
Long-distance love
There are always a number of interesting questions at All-Star Weekend.
Like, where else would you be able to extract the following response from Kemba Walker?
“Thanks for the support. I would never in a million years think I would have fans in Mongolia. That’s pretty cool.”
Walker was also asked to name his top four UConn players in history. He pondered his fellow Huskies and said, “Ah, man. I’m going with Emeka Okafor, Khalid El Amin, Ben Gordon and Rudy Gay.”
Ray Allen.
“I forgot Ray,” Walker said. “Ray Allen.”
Not so fast
Someone in the crowd tried to get Jayson Tatum into a Larry Bird comparison. Tatum wasn’t having it.
“Larry Bird’s one of the greatest players of all-time,” he said. “I’ve still got a long way to go to be in that conversation. I’m thankful to be on the Celtics. I love being a Boston Celtic. But that’s a long way away from that.”
Another reporter wondered what it was like playing without Al Horford.
“I love Al,” Tatum said. “The two years I got to play with him I learned a lot from him — a true professional, one of the best guys to be around. It was tough when he left, but, you know, we’re like 50 or so games in, so we’re used to playing without Al and vice versa.”
Tatum was among those putting in a word for Washington’s
Bradley Beal as the player who most has an argument about failing to be selected for the All-Star Game. It was little surprise, as Tatum and Beal have been friends since their early years growing up in St. Louis.
“Everybody that made the All-Star Game deserves to be here,” he said. “There’s always a few guys every season or every year that are in the conversation that could have or should have made it. Brad is definitely one of them. He’s averaging 30 points right now (29.1). If it was up to me, he would for sure be in it. But everybody here’s deserving, as well.”