The UCF freshman stood there, at the center of the court at Davidson’s Belk Arena on Saturday night, waiting for the opening tip of his first game as an official member of the Knights’ basketball team. And he was more than a foot taller than the guy standing on the other side of the circle, waiting to take the jump for the host Davidson Wildcats. 

MORE: Ranking college’s best centers | UK player gets tooth caught on net

It was quite the sight, watching the 7-6 Fall line up against 6-5 Jordan Barham, who is one of college basketball’s great leapers. And sure enough, when the ball went up, so did Barham, to the point where his head was even with Fall’s as they both reached for the ball at its apex.

But Fall’s arms are quite a bit longer than Barham’s, and he was able to tip the ball to his teammate and give the Knights possession. 

It was a moment nobody was sure was going to happen. 

Fall’s eligibility status had been up in the air for what must have seemed like forever. UCF coach Donnie Jones didn’t get word that the NCAA had cleared Fall until Friday morning, and he wasted no time getting in touch with his big man. 

“I called Tacko immediately, because he was walking to class, planning on not coming,” Jones told SN. “I told him to turn around and head back to the gym.”

The next time Fall steps to center court for a jump ball will be a pretty memorable moment, too. This time, he’ll be going against somebody more his size. 

See, the Knights are hosting UC Irvine on Wednesday, and the Anteaters have their own 7-6 center, Mamadou Ndiaye.

That’s pretty much must-see basketball, folks. A 7-6 center taking a jump ball against another 7-6 center. Could be a once-in-a-lifetime thing. 

Ndiaye, a sophomore, is a much more polished player than Fall. You remember his brilliant play in the NCAA Tournament last year, when he scored 12 points (on 6-of-9 shooting), grabbed five rebounds and was a decision-altering defensive presence in 30 minutes as he nearly helped the 13th-seeded Anteaters upend fourth-seeded Louisville. The Cardinals escaped with a 57-55 win. 

Ndiaye picked up where he left off this year; he scored 16 points, grabbed six rebounds and blocked six shots in the Anteaters’ opener, and then poured in a career-high 21 points, blocked four more shots and had six more rebounds in UC Irvine’s second game. 

MORE: Interesting photos from college basketball’s opening week

Fall, on the other hand, hadn’t even practiced with his teammates before stepping out there to take the opening jump ball against Davidson. He’s a work in progress, though Jones expects that progress to happen quickly. 

“We haven’t practiced with him, and the guys aren’t used to playing with him,” Jones said. “He got into the game, and that was really the first time he’s played with the starting team. Tonight was his first opportunity. There’s huge improvement down the road.”

In 14 minutes against Davidson (the Wildcats won, 90-85), Fall had four points — his only two shot attempts were successful dunks — and three rebounds. He blocked two shots, both in the second half when found the rhythm of the up-and-down contest. 

“It was really impressive,” Davidson guard Jack Gibbs said, of watching Fall play. “He’s a really great athlete. He’s probably the biggest player I’ll play against in my entire career. It was a good experience. It was fun to be out there.”

Jake Belford, Davidson’s 6-9, 210-pound junior, was tasked with guarding Fall.  

“Saying he’s a big guy is … an understatement,” Belford said with a grin. 

Davidson presented a unique challenge for Fall.

“This is probably the worst first game he could have played in, because their 5-man (Belford) is like a guard, and I don’t know if they ever posted one time,” Jones said. “They kept him on the perimeter a lot. I thought he did a great job.” 

After that game, Jones was one big smile talking about what it means for Fall to actually be able to play, after all the uncertainty. 

“This kid has come through so much in the past three years,” he said. “For him to finally be cleared of the wondering, to be like everybody else. Because even since he’s been at UCF, we had to take a team picture with him, and one without him. We went on a foreign trip, he couldn’t go. We have practice, he can’t practice. So everything was, you’re on the team, but you’re not on the team. So now he can be like everybody else. It puts down his doubt in his mind and his heart, the ‘Am I going to be able to play?’ ”

That’s behind him now. Next up, a challenge (Ndiaye) he can meet eye-to-eye.