Georgia Tech freshman Ibrahima Sacko committed the worst foul of the college basketball season thus far during Thursday night’s Diamond Head Classic Quarterfinal game. The 6-foot-6 forward closed out on a three-point shot in the absolute worst way possible.
UMass was up by eight with about 13 minutes left in the second half. Robert Davis Jr. pulled up from the parking lot while Sacko stood inside of the three-point line.
Davis had already released his shot before Sacko made contact while he was in the air. It was not a bump. It was not a shove.
Sacko threw his entire body weight into Davis, led with his shoulder and laid him out. He might as well have been playing linebacker. Even then, a flag would have been thrown for roughing the passer.
Minutemen head coach Frank Martin was baffled by what transpired.
Sacko did exactly what he shouldn’t do when trying to close out on a three-point shooter. If you were to open a textbook on how to close out, it would say to do the opposite of the Georgia Tech wing.
Despite the egregious foul, which ultimately resulted in three free throws, Sacko was saved by his teammates. The Yellow Jackets blew a six-point lead at halftime. They were down as many as 10 during the second half.
Georgia Tech battled back down the stretch to defeat UMass by three and will play Hawaii during the semifinal matchup of the Christmas weekend tournament on late Friday night. Although Sacko did not have to deal with any ramifications from his horrible foul, the film session during the day is not going to be a fun one. Even if first-year head coach Damon Stoudamire is willing to forgive, he will not forget.
Sacko committed the worst (and funniest?) foul of the college basketball season thus far. It will not go without ridicule!