UCF Basketball: Tacko Fall to miss remainder of season with injury

HARTFORD, CT - MARCH 11: Tacko Fall #24 of the UCF Knights looks on during the second half against the Southern Methodist Mustangs during the semifinal round of the AAC Basketball Tournament at the XL Center on March 11, 2017 in Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

The UCF Knights received bad news on Saturday, as their leading scorer player, Tacko Fall, is out for the rest of the season.

UCF star player Tacko Fall is set to miss the remainder of the 2017-18 college basketball season with a shoulder injury.

Fall, a 7’6 junior out of Senegal, was the leading scorer for UCF this season with 11.3 points per game, adding 7.3 rebounds per game (second on the team), and 1.9 blocks per game.

While his blocks per game have dropped in his junior season, he has increased his scoring average every season with the school and has seemingly put it upon himself to increase his scoring output in 2017-18. In fact, Fall has scored in double-digits in 10 total games this season, which is saying something for a team that only averages around 63 points per game.

This injury is unfortunate news for the team and the talented player, but, with his sights likely set on a future in the NBA, the towering center will need to do everything he can to recover from this injury.

UCF has been hit with more injuries than any team in the country. They just announced that 7-6 center Tacko Fall is done for the year to undergo shoulder surgery.
— Rob Dauster (@RobDauster) January 20, 2018

His loss is (excuse the pun) massive, but it should be noted that the Knights are a defense-first squad that has won games as a team rather than on the back of one player. UCF is the No. 3 team in scoring defense this season, and they will continue to hand their hat on just that.

His defensive presence inside is irreplaceable, but it would not surprise me if this team found a way to continue to succeed without him.

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Unfortunately, the only way this team was likely going to make the NCAA Tournament was with a win in the American Athletic Conference Tournament, something that now looks far beyond their reach.