7-foot-9 Florida recruit is about to make college basketball history
Olivier Rioux makes Zach Edey look like Muggsy Bogues.
nypost.com
By Matt Ehalt
Olivier Rioux makes Zach Edey look like Muggsy Bogues.
An incoming Florida basketball freshman, Rioux has gone viral in recent days after internet sleuths discovered his bio page on the school’s athletic website lists him at a staggering 7-foot-9.
That height would make the Montreal native the tallest college basketball player of all time, passing former 7-foot-8 Florida Tech and Mountain State center Paul Sturgess, according to Fox Sports.
Rioux previously entered the Guinness World Book of Records in 2022 as the tallest living male teenager.
Time will tell if Rioux can leave his mark on college basketball the way his fellow Canadian and the 7-foot-4, two-time National Player of the Year Edey did, but Rioux is going to turn some heads this year.
You can’t teach height, as they say, and it’s not every day you see a 7-foot-9 player.
Edey brought plenty of eyes for his height and prowess, just like Tacko Fall did in the late 2010s while he played for UCF before heading to the NBA.
Rioux, who played for IMG Academy in Florida, lists himself at 7-foot-7 on his Instagram page, while noting that he’s 7-foot-9 with size-20 shoes on.
The Ballislife.com X account reported that the 18-year-old stood at 7-foot-5 two years ago before growing an inch last year and then adding another inch this year.
Rioux measured at 6-foot-1 as an 8-year-old, 6-foot-11 in sixth grade and joined the 7-foot club before entering seventh grade, according to Florida.
The 290-pound center went viral last year for posting a photo from 2018 of him towering over Nuggets guard Jamaal Murray, who is listed as 6-foot-4.
Rioux is listed as a three-star prospect by 247sports.com, ranking 305th nationally and 56th among centers.
