Getty UCF center Tacko Fall
It’s not easy to find a realistic NBA comparison for a player who stands 7-foot-6 and towers over the entire college basketball world. Even beyond that, UCF Knights center Tacko Fall would have multiple inches on any current NBA player. In turn, there may be no one player in the pros that’s an exact comparison for his game. But one name does stand out as an intriguing choice, due to the style of play and potential role Fall could play at the next level.
This would be Philadelphia 76ers center Boban Marjanovic. While Marjanovic was acquired by the Sixers as a part of the trade which brought Tobias Harris to town from the Los Angeles Clippers, he’s proven to be a solid addition.
Marjanovic’s role with the Sixers and the other teams he’s played for in the NBA is one that would be ideal for the UCF center. Although Boban is slightly shorter than Fall, he stands 7-foot-3 and is a brutal matchup for opposing centers.
Tacko Fall’s Potential NBA Role Compared to Boban Marjanovic
One key thing to point out first is that while Fall has added weight and stands at roughly 310 pounds, he may need to add even a bit more weight in the NBA. Marjanovic is three inches shorter and weighs 290 pounds, allowing him to use both his height and strength to create problems for opponents. The good news is that Fall has added quite a bit of weight since joining the Knights as a freshman.
The minutes Marjanovic has seen throughout his career have been sporadic at times, but with the Sixers, he’s posting career numbers. Through 13 games of the 2018-19 season (after the trade), the 30-year-old big man has averaged 14.0 minutes per game along with 7.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.
Fall has the potential to be a better shot blocker at the NBA level than Marjanovic as well. Through his first 114 career games at UCF, he’s averaged 2.4 blocks per game. This includes two seasons (2016-17 and 2018-19) in which he averaged 2.6 blocks. One thing to note is that Fall has averaged more minutes per game (23.0) in his career, but that number would likely come down a bit in the pros due to matchup issues.
Tacko Fall’s NBA Outlook
Similar to Marjanovic, Fall could be the perfect option to play against traditional big men and slow down the top centers who hang around the paint. With that said, his game needs to expand still, but if he’s able to add a mid-range jumper at some point, it could make him a dangerous weapon for an NBA team.
It may take Fall a few seasons to fully make the jump into the rotation with a team at the next level, but the G League could be a nice starting point. I’d expect to see an NBA team try to eventually get the 7-foot-6 center into a spot where he’s providing minutes somewhere in the teens with their second unit.
If this pans out and Fall is able to contribute, he’d be a player similar to Marjanovic, but one who can do an even better job protecting the rim, although Boban isn’t bad at that job either.
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