UCF’s Tacko Fall center stage at NIT semifinals.
NEW YORK — In this city filled with skyscrapers, Tacko Fall was supposed to tower above all others on this Big Apple Breakthrough Tour for UCF basketball.
It had all the makings of a Tacko Tuesday in New York for the NIT semifinal matchup with TCU at Madison Square Garden — in a game that put UCF’s 7-foot-6 big man at center stage in the world’s most famous arena in the heart of the nation’s largest metropolis.
Unfortunately for the Knights, Tacko Tuesday turned into TCU Tuesday.
All of the pre-game build-up surrounding Tacko fizzled into a 68-53 loss for UCF at Madison Square Garden, ending this magical postseason run one victory short of the NIT championship game. Tacko’s stats: 7 points, 5 rebounds and 6 blocks before fouling out late in the game.
Just goes to show how gaping the chasm is between being the tallest player in college basketball and being the best player in college basketball. Don’t get me wrong, it was an incredible first season for UCF coach Johnny Dawkins, but think of how bright the future will be if Tacko can change the narrative from how tall he is to how good he is?
When the Knights tipped off against the Horned Frogs Tuesday night at the Garden, Tacko stood seven inches taller than TCU’s main big (6-foot-11) Vladimir Brodziansky, but Brodziansky finished with 17 points and nine boards.
Still, even with the loss, this NIT run was an unbelievable brand-builder for UCF — and much of it can be attributed to Tacko. This might be “The City That Never Sleeps”, but it is still a city that likes to peep when the nation’s tallest basketball player is in its midst.
“That’s a constant,” says UCF guard B.J. Taylor, a sophomore from Boone High School. “I don’t care how many people are in a city, I don’t care how much hustle and bustle there is in New York, Tacko is still the biggest man in town. That never changes. He can be in a small town of 100 people or a big city of 10 million people and he still stands above all others.”
Tacko has endured all the gawks and gigs ever since he arrived in America from the tiny African nation of Senegal five years ago. The most tired, trite refrain, of course, is, “How’s the weather up there?” When tempestuous former 7-foot-2 University of Florida center Dwayne Schintzius was constantly asked that very question by strangers in the street, he would sometimes spit on them and answer, “It’s raining.”
Tacko just smiles and says, “It’s nice.”
“It doesn’t bother me,” he says. “I am proud of who I am.”
It should be noted that Tacko isn’t even the best player on his own team, but he is obviously the most unique. Which is why there was a huge digital billboard of him in Times Square this week, showing Tacko with his 8-foot wingspan outstretched, palming a basketball in both hands and promoting UCF’s appearance at the Garden.
Fall is a decent college basketball player, but not great — not yet. He averaged 11.9 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game this season while shooting nearly 72 percent from the field. The question is can he become a truly dominant player? Can he average 20 points per game, 15 rebounds and four blocked shots?
“My goal,” he says, “is to become better and better on both ends of the floor. If we want to get to the next level as a team, I will have to get to the next level as a player.”
It’s frightening to think what could happen if and when Tacko ever does get to that next level. He’s only been playing basketball for five years and already he’s the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
Unlike many of the past players of his stature, he’s not some fragile stick figure who other big men push around. Dawkins played with 7-foot-7 Manute Bol and 7-6 Shawn Bradley during his decade-long NBA career and calls Tacko the most “well-proportioned” of any of the players he’s seen at that size. If Tacko’s skills continue to develop and he stays healthy, he has a chance to be Yao Ming without the foot problems.
Dawkins is not bashful about imagining and projecting what Tacko could be someday. He is constantly telling his Senegalese center, “You can change the game. You can do things nobody else ever has. With your size and ability to run the floor, you can revolutionize American basketball.”
At the very least, he is already changing the image of UCF basketball.
In a magical NIT run into this city filled with skyscrapers, the Knights are hoping the next step will be to board an elevator that takes them to the top of Tacko Tower.