Florida Gators 7'9″ freshman video goes viral
10/03/2024 03:49 PM
For nearly a decade now, the Florida Gators basketball team has toiled away in mediocrity, a far cry from where Billy Donovan had left the program when he departed for the NBA in 2015. Since Donovan’s departure, the Gators have a total of six NCAA Tournament wins, and perhaps even worse, not a single star who departed the program as a household name. That may soon change thanks to incoming freshman Olivier Rioux.
If you don’t know the name “Olivier Rioux” just yet, you probably know of him at the very least. Standing at 7’9″ the 18-year-old Rioux will officially become the tallest college basketball player ever when he makes his Florida Gators debut, surpassing a pair of 7’7″ giants, Kenny George (UNC-Asheville) and Mike Lanier (UCLA).
With Todd Golden’s Gators beginning practices ahead of the 2024-25 season, fans have started taking note of the enormous freshman and his uncanny ability to make very tall young men look very small next to him.
Florida's 7'9 freshman Olivier Rioux is UNFAIR
(via @IsaacEdelman)
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 3, 2024
While Olivier Rioux will certainly draw more eyeballs to the Florida basketball program, it remains to be seen if the big man from Montreal can have an impact on the Gators win-loss record too. Even though Rioux’s height puts him in a class by himself — and by this I mean he’s the Guinness World Record holder for tallest teenager ever — he comes to Gainesville as just a 3-star recruit.
A pair of double-digit scorers — Walter Clayton Jr. and Will Richard — return to give the Gators a potent and experienced backcourt. 7’1″ center Micah Handlogten will be with the program, but will be taking a redshirt season after suffering a gruesome left leg fracture in the SEC Tournament Final. Handlogten’s absence could potentially pave the way for Rioux to see some early playing time for Todd Golden’s squad.
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