Celtics’ Tacko Fall to conduct Boston Pops in a custom-made tuxedo

Fan favorite two way center Tacko Fall had to get a tuxedo in a hurry after getting asked to guest conduct the Boston Pops before Christmas.

Tacko Fall needed a tuxedo in a hurry, and for a 7-foot-5 giant of a man, that was no small problem.

The unavoidable puns which follow the rookie two way player around like the attention he gets for doing things that most of us take for granted are a byproduct of his extraordinary height as much as his success in basketball.

But with that success has come challenges most of us never experience, either — like being asked to guest conduct at the Boston Pops holiday concert.

The Senegalese center found himself in the position of having to secure appropriate clothing with only a few days to spare, and at his exceptional height, that was no easy task.

The Celtics reached out to longtime outfitter of Boston athletes Alan Gibeley, owner of Zareh Boston, for help.

“How am I going to get a tuxedo for Tacko for Tuesday,” asked Gibeley in an interview with the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach, “because he clearly needs one custom-made?”

Working with Boston’s Public Relations team, the clothier tracked down a wholesaler in Philadelphia able to meet such an unusual order in such a small window of time.

Teams of tailors in both Boston and Philly quickly added four inches each to Fall’s sleeves and pant legs of a 48-extra long tux ordered special for the UCF product.

Aware of the chaos which can affect shipping in the holiday season, Gibeley instead opted to have a driver make the trip to New England to deliver the custom clothing directly to the team.

“What if it came a day late? We had one of the people that works in the factory down in Philadelphia drive it up right to the store,” explained Zareh’s owner, who gave the driver a $250 tip for his trouble

The former Golden Knight, who grew up in West Africa wearing traditional clothing, wasn’t even sure what the articles of clothing being procured for him were, exactly.

“I heard about tuxedos, but I thought it was just a suit,” offered Fall with his trademark grin.

Gibeley gave an impromptu lesson on Western formal wear for the Conakry native, saying “[y]ou have the tails tuxedo, which is the dressiest you can get.”

“The difference between a suit and a tuxedo is it has a glossy finish on the lapel, typically a stripe down the side of the pants, and is designed for the dressiest occasions,” he added.

As one of the tallest players ever to play the game, getting custom gear is fairly routine for Fall — it’s the gravity of the event and need for a rapid turnaround that made the experience a unique one.

Despite the novelty of the experience, the big man is looking forward to conducting the Pops despite the tight schedule the late addition has forced onto many aspects of his life.

Besides the tuxedo adventure, Fall traveled with the team to Indiana for Wednesday night’s matchup with the Pacers, and plans to continue on to the G League Winter Showcase in Las Vegas.

Tacko returns to Boston to conduct the Pops just one day later, on the 23rd.

As he often does, the well-studied center is considering reaching out to former Celtic frontcourt player Shaquille O’Neal, though for advice on conducting in this case, as the Hall of Fame center previously conducted the Pops as well, in 2010.

“Maybe I’ll reach out to him,” he says. “It looks really exciting. I’ll watch a couple of videos on YouTube and see how they do it,” added Fall.

As with anything he puts his mind to, the 7-foot-5 center anticipates success, based as much on his prodigious ability to learn in a hurry as anything else.

“I’m shy but I’m not afraid to do it. I love music,” he added.

On seeing the tuxedo, Fall was impressed, perhaps feeling the finishing touches take a weight off of his particularly broad shoulders.

“It is so elegant,” he offered. “Can you take a picture? I want to send it to my mother,”, who used to help the UCF product repair pants torn playing soccer.

At least, until he taught himself that, too; “I saw my mom do it,” said Fall.

Quite the accomplished autodidact, it probably shouldn’t surprise that the fan favorite frontcourt player would be asked to lead a local cultural staple like the Pops for an evening.

But given the way the Tacko has absorbed almost anything he sees of interest since those days playing soccer in Senegal nearly a decade ago, we should probably get used to his embrace of the extraordinary.