Boston Celtics: Tacko Fall opting to leave Senegal’s nation team is encouraging

Boston Celtics rookie Tacko Fall was not listed on the Senegal national team’s 16-man roster for the FIBA World Cup. Though reports have surfaced that he was cut from the roster, this is simply not the case — he left on his own will.

Though Tacko Fall managed to sign on with the Boston Celtics this summer, a future in the NBA is by no means a guarantee.

The center inked an Exhibit-10 contract with the franchise, which is a non-guaranteed deal that can be converted to a Two-Way contract somewhere down the line. It can also be converted to a regular one-year deal if the team wishes. With this, at the very least, Fall is slated to be a participant in Boston’s training camp this September.

However, despite him catching the eye of the Celtics front office, the 23-year-old still has a ways to go. Because of his ridiculous stature, Fall managed to succeed at the collegiate level.

The NBA is an entirely different beast.

If he wishes to prove he belongs in this league, the center needs to work on and significantly improve upon many aspects of his game. As it so happens, it appears Fall is well aware of this.

Recently, the 16-man roster for Senegal’s national team for the upcoming FIBA World Cup was announced. To the surprise of many, Tacko Fall was not on it.

Though rumors have surfaced that Fall was cut from the team, according to Jared Weiss of The Athletic, this is simply not true.

"“Fall was not cut from the Senegal roster. He was grateful to be named to the team, but was always planning on returning to the US this week to spend the rest of the offseason working to make the Celtics roster.”"

As previously alluded to, Fall was able to become a national phenomenon in college thanks in large to his ridiculous build of 7-7, 310-pounds. However, it appears that even he knows that his stature alone won’t be enough to succeed at the professional level.

The center is a raw talent who needs improvement in seemingly all aspects of his game. Offensively, Fall is very unrefined. His post work is nothing to write home about and his jump shot is, frankly, nonexistent.

Defensively, though he did manage to put up an impressive 2.4 blocks per game, the center still leaves something to be desired. At 7-7, blocks should come to him like flies to old fruit so, frankly, 2.4 blocks a game something we expect to see.

What’s concerning is his lack of ability to stay with defensive assignments, specifically on the perimeter. With the athleticism the NBA’s bigs posses, both inside and out of the paint, being capable of staying with your assignment is a huge plus.

Tacko Fall is an intriguing prospect, and the Boston Celtics were smart to take a chance on him with such a minimal risk contract. If the center can improve upon these area’s of play listed above, his chances of making the team’s roster heading into the 2019-20 season will increase significantly.

By opting to forgo playing for his country’s national team to come back to the states and work on his game, this is without a doubt a step in the right direction for Fall.