It’s hard not to be enchanted with Fall, who at 7' 6" is the tallest player in college basketball. He is a native of Senegal who played soccer while he was growing up but transitioned to hoops when he grew to such astounding height. He came to the U.S. at the age of 16, went to high school and trained in Houston, and he is now in his second year at UCF. Yes, he’s raw, but the numbers suggest a significant improvement over last season: He went from scoring 7.4 points per game to 13.4; from 5.9 rebounds per game to 10.7; and from making 75.0% of his field goals to 79.3%. He’s also getting to the foul line twice as often, although his percentage has declined from 56 to 46.
I seriously doubt Fall will ever be an NBA player, but if he keeps working at his game and his body, he will have a chance to make money somewhere. Still, it’s a great story, and he’s an easy kid to root for. In an effort to answer Jason’s question, I logged onto Synergy to watch some video of Fall doing his thing on both ends of the floor. Here is my scouting report:
He sure is tall! . . . Love the goggles, can’t explain why . . . Can’t understand why anyone would drive at him, but they do . . . Gets more of his blocks away from the basket than you’d guess . . . Not real mobile defensively but not too bad at closing out on three-point shooters . . . Best option is to force him to defend ball screens . . . Offensively, he has zero explosiveness . . . Hands are not strong, either. If he brings the ball below his shoulder it often gets knocked away . . . No shooting range outside of a layup or dunk . . . Not a bad little baby hook when he gets it . . . Gets called for three seconds a lot. I didn’t realize that was still a rule . . . Would be a lot more effective under FIBA rules, which allow for offensive goaltending . . . No ability to recognize double teams and pass out of them . . . Poor balance offensively, knock him off his base and he will stumble . . . Can’t imagine how he flies coach.
I seriously doubt Fall will ever be an NBA player, but if he keeps working at his game and his body, he will have a chance to make money somewhere. Still, it’s a great story, and he’s an easy kid to root for. In an effort to answer Jason’s question, I logged onto Synergy to watch some video of Fall doing his thing on both ends of the floor. Here is my scouting report:
He sure is tall! . . . Love the goggles, can’t explain why . . . Can’t understand why anyone would drive at him, but they do . . . Gets more of his blocks away from the basket than you’d guess . . . Not real mobile defensively but not too bad at closing out on three-point shooters . . . Best option is to force him to defend ball screens . . . Offensively, he has zero explosiveness . . . Hands are not strong, either. If he brings the ball below his shoulder it often gets knocked away . . . No shooting range outside of a layup or dunk . . . Not a bad little baby hook when he gets it . . . Gets called for three seconds a lot. I didn’t realize that was still a rule . . . Would be a lot more effective under FIBA rules, which allow for offensive goaltending . . . No ability to recognize double teams and pass out of them . . . Poor balance offensively, knock him off his base and he will stumble . . . Can’t imagine how he flies coach.
