UCF basketball: Should Tacko Fall leave for the NBA?
By Doug Winkey
UCF basketball had a strong season on the back of big man Tacko Fall. The question now is if he should stay in the NBA draft and leave school early or remain with the Knights.
The American Conference got a solid year out of UCF basketball this season. The Knights went 24-12 and made the NIT semifinals where they lost to eventual champ TCU.
Center Tacko Fall was a big part of the team’s success. The 7’6, 300-pound sophomore from Dakar, Senegal, had a tremendous year. Fall was third on the team with 10.9 points while shooting 71% from the field. He also led Central Florida with 9.5 rebounds and 2.6 blocks. The block stat was good enough for 18th nationally. It’s not hard to see the potential after only two seasons of college ball under his belt.
The big man’s success has given Fall reason to enter the NBA’s draft evaluation process and see where he might fall in June. The AAC’s Defensive POY has a tremendous opportunity to learn about his pro prospects and how to potentially improve his game.
However, Fall should return and turn UCF into one of the most intriguing programs in the country for next year. He would be the second-leading scorer returning to school after guard B.J. Taylor. He could have many more scoring opportunities with three of the team’s top seven rotation guys graduating. Fall might benefit from another season of college competition to develop his post game just a little more; he could certainly stand to improve on his 2.6 turnovers per game.
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It’s hard to say exactly what the young man should do. UCF could challenge for the conference title if he stays, but Fall’s rare size might cause an NBA team to really shower praise in advance of the draft.