7-Foot-9-Inch Teen Makes College Basketball History

Florida coach Todd Golden had people yelling at him during halftime on Thursday night to get 7-foot-9-inch center Olivier Rioux in the game. Golden relented with 2:09 to play—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, drew so much attention from the Ospreys that he never got to touch the ball, per the AP.

Still, "it felt great," Rioux said. "The support from everybody was amazing, even on the bench and even the fans. I think everybody supported me. I'm very grateful." Rioux is 2 inches taller than former NBA giants Gheorghe Muresan and Manute Bol, and 3 inches taller than popular big men Yao Ming, Tacko Fall, and Shawn Bradley. Rioux already owned a spot in the Guinness record book when he signed with Florida in 2024. Golden gave Rioux the option of playing sparingly last season or taking a redshirt season and working on his game; Rioux chose the latter.

Nonetheless, he became a walking viral video on campus, whether he was riding his bike, ducking under doorways, or cutting down nets while standing flat-footed during Florida's NCAA Tournament run. "He's put in a lot of great work," Golden said. "To his credit, he's kept a great attitude without getting a lot of reward in terms of playing time and opportunity." Golden had made it clear that Rioux would only play late in blowouts, the result of having all four frontcourt players returning. But Rioux doubled down on wanting to be at Florida and welcomed the challenge of playing against Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh, Rueben Chinyelu, and Micah Handlogten in practice and behind them in games.

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Fans delivered the loudest ovation of Thursday's game—second only to Florida unveiling its championship banner during pregame introductions—when Golden motioned to Rioux at the end of the bench. Rioux pulled off his long-sleeved T-shirt and hustled to the scorer's table to check in. Teammates and coaches celebrated wildly and fans screamed every time the ball got near Rioux. He'll have to wait until his next outing to actually touch it. When asked about making history, Rioux quipped: "It's another day, I guess."