BOULDER — Even utilizing 7-foot freshman , while wielding long, padded sticks in practice, hasn’t truly prepared the for the defensive force of nature they will face Wednesday night.
If the CU men’s basketball team expects to succeed in its first appearance in the National Invitation Tournament since 2011, they must first find a way to solve Central Florida’s 7-foot-6 Tacko Fall.
One of the premier defensive players in the nation, Fall will be waiting every time guard and the rest of the Buffs attempt to attack the rim in the teams’ first-round battle at UCF.
“You’ve got to make good decisions when you go in there and know you can’t just finesse it, or do things you might do to a 6-8, 6-9 guy,” White said. “It’s definitely a challenge and something I’ve never seen before. And nobody’s ever seen before. Definitely going to be a challenge.”
Fall has been one of the breakout stars of mid-major basketball this season, combining his unique size and out-of-nowhere back story (he’s from Senegal and only took up basketball about four years ago) with a productive year on the floor that earned Fall the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year award.
Fall ranks third on the Knights with 11.1 points per game while leading UCF in rebounding (9.6) and blocked shots (81). He has posted 11 double-doubles, and his field goal percentage of .722 would rank second nationally if Fall owned enough attempts to qualify (he’s 151-for-201). With Fall protecting the rim, the Knights lead the nation in defensive field goal percentage at .362.
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