Olivier Rioux is not the next Zach Edey, he is the first Oliver Rioux

Olivier Rioux is used to people looking at him. The second he walks into a room, eyes naturally drift toward the 16-year old freshman at IMG Academy. At 7-foot-5, the Guinness Book of World Records has called Rioux, the world’s tallest teenager.

With the height has come a small bit of fame. On Rioux’s Instagram page, Rioux has posted only 69 times at the time of this writing. He has 27,400 followers. Type ‘Oliver Rioux’ into Youtube, and you find pages of his highlight videos with hundreds of thousands of views. Despite many not seeing Rioux play in person, the French-Canadian is quickly becoming a cultural phenomenon.

Sure, some of his fame is due to his size, and that is understood. However, there is no denying that Rioux is a talented basketball player. With the timing of Rioux’s breakout, the first name people think of is former Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy graduate Zach Edey, also a Canadian who stands 7-foot-4. Edey was just named second-team Big 10 after averaging 14.7 points and7.6 rebounds per game for Purdue this season.

Zach Edey

Of course, Olivier Rioux draws the comparisons to Edey, and rightfully so. The low-hanging fruit always is picked first. But, as you dive deeper into Rioux’s game, you see some unique qualities to his game that separate the native of Anjou, a Montreal borough.

“Our big man coach, Daniel Santiago, went through this development curve with Zach Edey,” IMG National Spotlight head coach Jeremy Schiller told On3. “Now everyone is seeing how well he is doing at Purdue. From what they say around campus is that, at the same stage, Zach was a little more athletic, but Olivier has a better feel.”

There simply are not many 7-5 people in the world, and there are even fewer who are playing basketball at a high level. Every five or ten years that a player that tall comes along, they are commonly asked to compare Yao Ming, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, or Gheorghe Muresan. Each player has their own unique skill set.

However, Schiller thinks Rioux’s game is unique to Rioux, with an unlimited ceiling on how good he can be.

The sky is Rioux’s limit

“The sky is the limit ultimately,” Schiller said. “The thing with Olivier is that he loves basketball. He isn’t one of those tall kids you have to force to play; if there is an open gym, he is in there. It is hard to tell where he will end up because he is already skilled and talented. But he just turned 16 two weeks ago, and he is at the best place in the world to develop him, and he has the passion for wanting to get better.”

“I do a good job moving the ball, playing around the rim,” Rioux said. ”I would say passing is my best skill.”

Rioux is playing regularly now with the IMG National Spotlight team. He does not start for this team and is coming along at his own pace. There is no pressure on him to be anything more than a developing kid right now. He plays behind 2023 big man Carson Cooper. When Rioux comes into the game, he knows where his strengths lie. His size is a genuine threat. Defensively, he affects everything in the paint. Offensively he plays big in the middle of the floor to provide an outlet. He finishes well around the basket, and they run multiple actions through him lined up at various spots in the half-court.

The IMG factor

Olivier Rioux has matured his game since arriving on campus. He has become strong and more confident. His conditioning has improved, his ability to play through contact at the basket is developing.

“Since I came to IMG, I play with better balance,” Rioux told On3.

Schiller agreed with Rioux’s assessment, “Since he has been here, his biggest area of growth has been his effort and intensity. He has learned to assert himself in the interior. As you saw tonight, he finished strong at the rim, even with his arms getting pulled on. He’s moving better now than when we first got him; he communicates and runs the floor. He has improved exponentially.”

Also, since coming to IMG, Rioux’s recruitment has picked up. He has seen a lot of coaches in the gym watching, and he even picked up his first offer. “I have better exposure here than before,” Rioux said.

“Everyone who has come in to see our national team saw him too,” Schiller said. “So that is about 150 coaches right there. Stetson has offered, and Purdue has come in to see him too. I think most schools are waiting to see how he progresses; you know not every school recruits big bigs in the college game.”

National team success

Size runs in the Rioux family, his father is 6-foot-8, and he has a background playing volleyball. His mother is 6-foot-2; she did not play sports. Olivier’s brother Emile Rioux is a 6-foot-10 high school senior at Meriden (NH) Kimball Union.

This summer, Rioux played and trained with the Canadian u16 team in the FIBA Americas event. Against the best players his age, North and South America have to offer. The Canadia team came in third place in the tournament, and through their six games, Rioux averaged 8.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game. He shot 50-percent from the field on 7.7 field goal attempts per game.

“This summer, he played with the U16 Canadian National team,” Schiller said. “I watched them play in the United States game, and he was so effective, finished with something around 12 points, 12 rebounds, and four blocks. The second I saw him live, I was very excited for him to be coming to play for us.”

How good can Rioux be?

“It is hard to identify who he plays like right now,” Schiller said. “He is so far from finalizing his potential, and I don’t want to box him in. His game has some unique things that other bigs just do not have, like his passing. He understands basketball; he’s so unique and naturally has a feel for the game.

“I think him playing professionally is a no-brainer, but where he falls within that realm, again, the sky is the limit here.”