Gators get commitment from 7-foot-6 center Olivier Rioux
The Florida basketball team is about to add some serious height.
Three-star center Olivier Rioux of Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy committed to the Gators on Wednesday night. He’s listed at 7-foot-6 and 275 pounds — and per On3’s Joe Tipton holds the Guinness World Record for being the tallest teenager.
But Rioux isn’t just tall; he has game.
He’s the No. 147 overall recruit and No. 22 center nationally for On3.
Rioux made the announcement on his Instagram page, writing the following: “I am proud to announce that I have committed to the Florida Gators for the 2024 season. I want to thank all my coaches from @imgabasketball and @brookwoodelite in helping me in this process. The adventure continue in Florida!”
Rioux is the second member of Florida’s 2024 recruiting class. He joins 4-star shooting guard Isaiah Brown, who signed with the Gators on Wednesday.
IMG National Spotlight head coach Jeremy Schiller spoke highly of Rioux in an interview with On3 earlier this year.
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“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.”
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The Gators’ newest hoops commit is from Canada
What kind of player are the Gators getting in Rioux?
“I do a good job moving the ball, playing around the rim,” Rioux told On3’s Jamie Shaw in March. ”I would say passing is my best skill.”
Here’s more from Shaw on Rioux:
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.”
