Florida basketball's Todd Golden sheds light on redshirt plan for 7-foot-9 Olivier Rioux
11/14/2024 05:18 PM
The anticipation surrounding the upcoming season for the Florida Gators’ 7-foot-9 prospect Oliver Rioux is on hold for next year. Florida basketball’s head coach, Todd Golden, says the plan is for Rioux to redshirt the upcoming season and make his historic debut in 2025-26, according to 247 Sports’ Graham Hall.
“We’ll continue to talk to him and see if he changes what he wants to do, but as of right now, that’s the plan that we’re gonna have with him as we move forward,” Golden said.
After Rioux sat in the winding minutes of the Gators’ 86-62 win over Grambling State, fans cheered to watch NCAA men’s basketball history for the tallest player to check into a game. However, of course, that never happened, as the incoming freshman will take the season off in preparation for next season.
Florida basketball’s Oliver Rioux’s video goes viral
History will have to wait, as Florida Gators head coach Todd Golden wishes he had spoken clearer before deciding to redshirt Oliver Rioux’s freshman year. A recent video of Rioux went viral because of his 7-foot-9 frame.
Still, coach Golden says the decision to redshirt the two-star recruit in 2024-25 was always a possibility.
“We’re talking about redshirting him for this year, yeah. And I should have made that clear because, and honestly, it’s put him in a tough situation. He’s sitting over there at the end of the games, and everybody’s yelling at him and trying to get him out there, and they just hadn’t understood that that was our potential plan for him. So that’s where we’re at at this moment,” Golden said. “I’m not saying that’s 100% gonna be the plan.
“We’ll continue to talk to him and see if he, you know, changes what he wants to do, but as of right now, that’s the plan that we’re gonna have with him as we move forward,” Golden concluded.
Florida plays Florida State on Friday on the road in Tallahassee.
The post Florida basketball’s Todd Golden sheds light on redshirt plan for 7-foot-9 Olivier Rioux appeared first on ClutchPoints.
