Florida’s 7ft 9in Oliver Rioux becomes tallest player in college basketball history | College basketball

Florida coach Todd Golden was yelled at at halftime Thursday night to get 7-foot-9 center Olivier Rioux in the game.

Golden gave up with 2:09 left – and made history in the process – after chants of “We Want Ollie” swept through the O’Connell Center.

Rioux became the tallest person to ever play college basketball when he made his debut in a 104-64 victory over North Florida. Rioux, a 19-year-old redshirt freshman from Canada and the world’s tallest teenager, attracted so much attention from the Ospreys that he didn’t even touch the ball.

“It was awesome,” Rioux said. “The support from everyone has been incredible, even on the bench and even among the fans. I think everyone has supported me. I’m very grateful.”

When asked about writing the story, Rioux joked: “It’s another day, I guess.” »

Rioux made everyone present smile. Even North Florida forward Trey Cady smiled when he faced Rioux. Cady was giving up more than a foot in the match.

“There are people yelling at me at halftime about playing him,” Golden said. “I’m like, ‘Look, it’s going to happen. The time will come.'”

Rioux is five inches taller than former NBA giants Gheorghe Muresan and Manute Bol, and three inches taller than popular big men Yao Ming, Tacko Fall and Shawn Bradley. He already had a spot in the Guinness Book of Records when he signed with Florida in 2024.

Golden gave Rioux the option to play sparingly last season or take a redshirt season and work on his game. Rioux chose the latter. Still, it was a walking viral video, from riding his bike around campus to hiding under every door to cutting down nets while standing flat-footed during Florida’s NCAA Tournament.

“He did a lot of good work,” Golden said. “Admittedly he has maintained a great attitude without getting much reward in terms of playing time and opportunities.”

Golden had made it clear that Rioux would not play until late in blowouts, the result of all four frontcourt players returning. But Olivier redoubled his desire to be in Florida and took on the challenge of playing against Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh, Rueben Chinyelu and Micah Handlogten in practice and behind them in games.

“I talked to the guys at halftime when we were up 24 and expressed to them the importance of getting off to a really good start so we can give some of the younger guys and some guys on the bench an opportunity to play and tear up,” Golden said. “Obviously the game was in our control and we thought it would be a good opportunity to get him out there and get his first varsity experience, and I think he was pretty excited.”

“It was pretty cool for him to finally see the ground.”

The fans delivered the loudest ovation of the game – second only to Florida unveiling its championship banner during pregame introductions – when Golden gestured to Rioux at the end of the bench. Rioux took off his long-sleeved t-shirt and rushed to the scorer’s table to check in.

Teammates and coaches celebrated wildly, and fans screamed every time the ball got near Rioux. He will have to wait until his next release to touch it.

“So much fun,” Handlogten said. “When he was checking the game, I kind of stopped him and said, ‘Play with confidence. You’ve worked hard for two years now to get to this point. This is your moment. This is your time to shine.”

“To see him running on the field with a little smile on his face, it was really good to see.”