Vols, Vandy recruit 7-foot-5 player

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – At the AAU National Championships and Super Showcases this past week, where 6-foot-7 and 6-foot-8 teenagers were a dime a dozen among the 3,000 or so basketball players participating, Tacko Fall took the label of “the tall kid” to a new level.

Thought to be the nation’s tallest high school

player

, Fall — 7 feet 5 and 290 pounds — was a fan favorite while in town with his Each1Teach1 club. Vanderbilt and Tennessee are among the schools he said are recruiting him.

But Fall, a native of Senegal who attends Liberty Christian Prep in Tavares, Fla., is not some 7-5 stiff. In just 1½ years of playing basketball, he’s become an effective

player

and high-level recruit. He has developed coordination and skill to help capitalize on his immense size.

“Tacko is getting better every day,” said E1T1 coach Steve Rees. “He’s extremely quick for a guy who is really like 7-6. He gets up and down the court well. … If Tacko goes to a school with a great development program, you’re going to see some great things from him. … He could be an icon.”

Fall is rated No. 178 nationally and No. 19 among centers by 247Sports.com, and he said he’s also being recruited by Georgetown, Florida, Central Florida, Florida State, Xavier, Clemson, Harvard, Tulsa, Texas Tech, LaSalle and UTEP.

“(College recruiters) said I can run the floor for a big guy and have a bright future,” said Fall, who can dunk a ball without having to jump. “… (Being 7-5) gives me a big advantage, and I’ve just got to know how to use it. I just have to keep the ball high.”

At the NBPA Top 100 camp in Charlottesville, Va., last month, while his fellow campers ate, checked their smart phones or took naps in the bleachers, he spent part of an afternoon break working on post moves with camp counselor Tim McCormick, the former NBA veteran who stands a mere 6-11.

“They always say basketball is easy for me, but it’s not as easy as they say it is,” Fall said. “Like for a guy like me to able to move, that’s tough. I have to go to training. People don’t acknowledge how hard I have to work. That’s why when some people are my critics, it’s because they don’t know.”

Fall was 6-7 when he was 14 but he shot up another 5 inches in a year after turning 15. He said he’s 2 inches taller than he was at this time last year.

At the NBPA camp, he made 7-footer Thon Maker appear small. Rees said the late NBA veteran Manute Bol, at 7-7, is the only player he’s ever seen taller than Fall.

Rees said that in order to not feel short, “Tacko makes me stand next my (7-year-old) son. ... He does make guys who are 6-10 look 6-4. I’m 6-foot, but standing next to Tacko I’m like 5-2.”

He’s enjoyed his time in the United States since coming over through a exchange program, learning the American game and culture. Tim Duncan is his favorite player. He lives with a host family and can speak English, French and the African language Wolof.