Tacko Fall Deserves to Have his Jersey Number 24 Retired by UCF

One of the most memorable UCF basketball players in school history is Tacko Fall. At 7-foot-6, Fall was one of the most dominant defensive players during his time. Now, it’s time for UCF to consider retiring Fall’s number 24 for how his career was spent in Orlando.

Fall spent four seasons at UCF from 2016 to 2019. Fall averaged 10.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game, along with averaging a field goal percentage over 74 in his UCF career. As a freshman and senior, Fall led the AAC in blocked shots. In the 2016-17 season, Fall won the AAC Defensive Player of the Year.

Fall became not only a UCF fan favorite but also a well-known basketball figure around the world in his four years at UCF. In 2019, Fall’s senior year would not only be a magical one for his UCF career but also in the school’s history. UCF finished winning 24 games and finished just short against the Duke Blue Devils in the second round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament

As a senior, Fall averaged 11.1 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, and his 2.6 blocks per game set a new career high. Fall finished making the All-AAC Third Team while having some spectacular accomplishments during the season:

• Became the 20th player in UCF history to score 1,000 points
• Recorded at least four blocks in a game 11 different times
• Was named the AAC Player of the Week once
• Was invited to the Myrtle Beach Invitational All-Tournament Team
• Led the AAC in field goal percentage with 74.8

UCF entered the 2019 NCAA Tournament as a ninth seed and got matched up against the VCU Rams in round one. Fall recorded a double-double with 13 points and 18 rebounds, along with five blocked shots, to help the Knights win their first tournament game in school history. Unfortunately for Fall and the Knights, the team fell 77-76 to Duke in the following round. Even in defeat, Fall was still solid with recording 15 points on 7-10 shooting.

Fall’s 2019 season helped him draw interest from the NBA. Although he went undrafted at the 2019 NBA Draft, Fall still played in seven games for the Boston Celtics in the 2019-20 season. One of the most memorable moments during that season was when Celtics head coach Brad Stevens encouraged Celtic fans to chant for Fall to enter the game, then Stevens gave him the signal to come off the bench.

After that season, Fall played in 19 games in the 2020-21 season for the Celtics before playing in 11 games with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2021-22 season. Since Cleveland, Fall hasn’t played in an NBA game. Today, Fall plays for the Ningbo Rockets in the Chinese Basketball Association.

We got yet another glimpse of him this past month, when he participated in the NBA’s Celebrity All-Star Game:

Fall’s legacy remains a strong one in Orlando. Fall’s 280 blocked shots are the most in UCF history, his 74.0 field goal percentage set a new all-time UCF and NCAA Division I record, and his 887 rebounds are third all-time in UCF history. With his impact on UCF basketball in his four years, Fall has reason to have his number 24 retired to the Addition Financial Arena rafters.