Florida will bring 7-foot-9 freshman Olivier Rioux to Rupp Arena in 2024-25
No, your eyes are not deceiving you. The headline you just read is accurate — or at least it is according to the Florida men’s basketball website.
The Gators’ incoming freshman center, Olivier Rioux, is listed at an impossible-to-understand 7-foot-9 on the program’s roster. He was previously listed at “only” 7-foot-7, which was already a Guinness World Record for the world’s tallest teenager. But somehow, the 18-year-old native of Canada is still growing. For comparison, Hall of Famer center Yao Ming was listed at 7-foot-6.
According to his player page on Florida’s website, Rioux was already standing at 6-foot-1 by the time he was eight years old. By sixth grade, he was up to 6-foot-11. The summer prior to his seventh-grade year, he surpassed the 7-foot mark. He currently weighs in at 290 pounds.
This isn’t the first time Rioux’s name has been mentioned on this website. Back in 2018 when Rioux was just 12 years old, KSR’s Ryan Lemond confidently declared he could beat any 12-year-old in the world at basketball in a one-on-one. It didn’t take long for someone to dig online and discover Rioux, who was just under 7-foot at the time.
Ryan might have been outmatched in that one…
Playing his high school ball for IMG Academy in Florida, Rioux committed to Florida back in November. He’s ranked as a three-star recruit and the No. 278 prospect in the 2024 class, per the On3 Industry Ranking. There was even a brief moment last summer when he was recruited by Kentucky.
Due to the additions of Texas and Oklahoma to the Southeastern Conference, Kentucky will only play Florida once in the 2024-25 season as opposed to the usual home-and-home, but the Wildcats will host that matchup at Rupp Arena in Lexington. It’ll be tough to miss the 7-foot-9 teenager running up and down the floor.
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