The draft stock of UCF Knights seven-footer big man Tacko Fall for a team like the Chicago Bulls might be on the rise after his showing against Duke.
The NCAA Tournament was an up and down event up to this point this year. It’s hard to find an NCAA Tournament that transpired as expected and with less upsets up to the point of the Sweet 16 as it has this year. Usually the “Big Dance” is filled with wild endings and upsets. As of now, only some wild endings took place. One of those was the showdown between the UCF Knights and Duke Blue Devils on March 24. In that game, UCF center Tacko Fall took over against Duke’s Zion Williamson, at least until he fouled out.
However, is the 7-foot-6 sizable big man Tacko Fall worth considerations in the 2019 NBA Draft for the Chicago Bulls? The plausibility of the Bulls selecting a developmental talent, to say the least, like Tacko Fall seems slim at the moment. However, this franchise in the Windy City needs a lot of help to build up the depth in the frontcourt rotation.
The draft stock of Tacko Fall is going to go up for at least a good while following his 15 point and three block performance in the Round of 32 heartbreaking loss to the overall one-seed Duke.
What Fall showed in slowing down who was considered to be the far and away top prospect in this draft class with Zion does bring some level of intrigue as to what he could do near the rim in the NBA. The potential of a player with the frame of Fall on both ends of the floor should be pretty high. His lack of mobility and agility will always be the concerning factor with him, though.
For this season entirely, Tacko Fall posted some impressive numbers just due to the size and length he brings to the table. He posted a sparkling player efficiency rating above 25 to go along with 11.0 points per game, 7.7 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks. Fall also registered some huge numbers per 100 possessions, including 6.1 blocks and 18.3 rebounds.
UCF got the boost of one of the biggest centers in the NBA getting to go to work down low and posting an offensive rating around 114 this season. Fall was a huge part of any of the success that the Knights found this season, including making it to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament as a nine-seed. UCF was able to upend the eight-seed VCU Rams in the Round of 64.
Most NBA Draft scouting media outlets don’t like Tacko Fall as a great prospect in this class. Draft Express barely ranked him among the top 150 prospects in this class. On nbadraft.net, Fall is also cleared of really having any draft projection this year.
If no NBA teams were considering drafting Fall this year before the NCAA Tournament, some should be now. His performance against Zion should make that idea a viable option for any team needing a big in the late second round for the 2019 NBA Draft.