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N.B.A. Size? Check. N.B.A. Future? That’s More Complicated.

Bob Levey/Getty Images, Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

Seven years ago, Tacko Fall and Christ Koumadje were discovered by basketball scouts in a similar fashion.

They were hard to miss.

On the streets of Dakar, Senegal, the two 7-footers stood out. They were spotted by employees of the Flying Star Academy, a Senegalese training ground for several basketball players who have ended up on college teams in the United States. The employees chased after the teenagers, imploring them to try their enormous hands at the sport.

At the time, Koumadje, now a 7-foot-4 senior at Florida State, preferred soccer.