Why Tacko Fall Can’t Succeed in the NBA
Most college basketball fans were surprised when the University of Central Florida Knights almost knocked the Duke Blue Devils out of the March Madness tournament. Duke barely survived the game, winning 77–76. Before the game, Duke were seen as 14-point favorites, with most betting odds stacked heavily in the Blue Devils’ favor; entering the tournament, Duke was seen as the team to beat. Three of their players went top 10 in the NBA draft. So why did Duke almost get eliminated from the tournament before even reaching the Sweet Sixteen?
UCF center Tacko Fall and shooting guard Aubrey Dawkins combined for more than half of the team’s points, combining to score a 47 in a valiant effort to knock the Blue Devils out of the tournament. However, Duke shooting guard RJ Barrett ended the tight game with a layup after his offensive rebound. It was a wild match with an exciting ending, and most fans were left shocked with how the game went.
For example, this is how the official NCAA March Madness twitter account reacted to the game:
After the game, fans and media focused less on Dawkins’ 32-point game, and instead were interested on UCF’s big man. The reason most fans were talking about Fall was not because of his game; they were talking about his height. Tacko Fall is 7’7”, meaning he is not only taller than any player currently in the NBA, but he would also be tied for the tallest player to ever play in the league (Manute Bol and Gheorghe Mureșan).
Obviously, the strongest part in Fall’s game is his height; he is able to swat shots away and dunk with ease because he is taller than anybody who tries to guard him. UCF upset the VCU Rams in the first round because they had no way to stop Tacko. If he missed, it can be assumed that he could grab his own rebound right after and put the shot back, like he was doing all night. He was able to catch passes above his defenders’ heads because no other players can match his staggering over 10 feet high standing reach is. He could guard everybody and nobody could guard him.
With his dominant performance in the tournament and his impressive measurements seen at the combine, Fall was expected to be a second-round draft pick. The UCF center showed up to the Barclays Center on draft night, and he waited throughout the draft to hear his name called. However, Fall left the arena without being drafted. He was signed to an Exhibit 10 contract with the Boston Celtics the next day; an Exhibit 10 contract is a one-year, minimum deal that can also be used as a two-way contract. Fall’s UCF teammates B.J. Taylor and Chad Brown also went undrafted, but were invited to join the Orlando Magic’s Summer League team. Aubrey Dawkins signed a league minimum contract after the draft as well.
While these former UCF Knights weren’t drafted, they still managed to find a way onto an NBA team. It wasn’t a surprise that Brown and Taylor weren’t drafted, but it was unexpected that Fall was left without a team on draft night. After seeing how he dominated other college basketball players with his powerful dunks and numerous blocks, it was believed that he should’ve been at least a late second-round pick.
There was a big problem in Fall’s game though. Throughout his four years at UCF, the center never missed a three-pointer–because he never attempted one.
Tacko Fall towers over other players in the paint, but outside of the key, he cannot do much. Besides his three-point shooting–or lack of shooting–another problem in his game is his free-throw shooting. Every year at UCF his free-throw percentage decined, starting at about 56% his freshman year, and ending at 36% his senior year. Fall’s free-throw shooting is worse than the lowest NBA record by Ben Wallace, who shot under 42 percent from the line.
Other big men in the league have succeeded in the league without shooting, but the NBA has changed greatly from its previous days. Dwight Howard and Joakim Noah are both centers who have previously been on the All-NBA First Team and are both All-Stars who have won Defensive Player of the Year awards. Both Noah and Howard were able to become elite centers in the league without becoming good shooters. Now, neither player can find a stable role on a team playing a lot of minutes. People were uncertain Noah would return to the NBA after being cut from the Knicks, and after signing with Memphis he has averaged about 9 points and 9 rebounds off the bench. On the other hand, Howard has been on 6 different teams in 8 seasons. Before his injury last season, Howard was averaging career low numbers in rebounding, points, and minutes.
The reason these players can’t find a position in the league, even after everything they accomplished, is because the NBA has changed. Teams commonly run small-ball units to increase their offensive capabilities through speed and shooting. One of the most successful small-ball lineups is the Warriors’ “Hamptons Five” made up of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Kevin Durant, and Draymond Green. None of these players mainly play center, but since the Warriors have Green’s defensive versatility, he can play the 5 even though he is undersized. All 5 players are threats on the perimeter so teams have to stretch their defense far past the arc. This Warriors dynasty is fueled through small-ball, a tactic that would be unable to work if they had a slow big man like Tacko Fall.
Now it is common to see teams run “positionless” basketball where players are expected to be able to expand their game past their traditional roles. Big men in the NBA have to be able to stretch the floor and shoot past the arc, a role that used to be limited to guards and forwards. All of the best big men in the league can shoot three-pointers: Kristaps Porzingis, Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis, and more.
Centers and power forwards need to be able to play different roles because they have to be able to guard their opponents on the pick and roll. For years Draymond Green and Steph Curry have been running an unstoppable pick and roll. This play is hard for other teams to guard because both players are able to knock down a three. If a slower big man switches on to Curry, he can go straight to the paint for an easy two-pointer. If Curry is doubled, he can pass to Draymond for a three or a layup at the hole. One reason that might have made teams stray away from Fall on draft night was the nightmares they had of him switching onto Curry on the pick and roll.
Tacko Fall’s game isn’t modernized to the standards the current NBA has set. Teams knew this, and were hesitant to pick him up despite his massive height. Tacko is missing qualities that are vital to succeed in the league, and he needs to be able to develop his shooting if he wants to become the league’s next best big man, because height alone won’t make him the best.
