All that Olivier Rioux had to do to make history on Thursday night was step onto the court during Florida’s game against Northern Florida.
By checking into the contest, the 7-foot-9 centre from Terrebonne, Que., became the tallest player in the history of college basketball.
Florida coach Todd Golden admitted that he had heard fans chanting, “We want Ollie,” calling for Rioux to finally see the floor after he sat out his first year with the Gators as a redshirt freshman.
“I said, ‘Listen, it will happen, the time will come.’ I can be stubborn,” Golden said. “I don’t listen to direction very well at times, so when they’re yelling at me to do it, it’s kinda like, ‘Well, maybe I’ll wait a little longer.’”
But, with 2:09 remaining in Thursday’s game and the contest well out of hand, Golden made the move and sent the giant to the scorer’s table to check in – generating a riotous response from the crowd.
Rioux played the final two minutes of the game, but didn’t tally any points or rebounds for the defending NCAA champions.
However, those two minutes were big ones for the huge teenager.
“It felt great,” Rioux said. “The support from everybody was amazing, even on the bench and even the fans. I think everybody supported, and I’m very grateful.”
Who were previous tallest players?
By making his debut, Rioux surpassed previous NCAA record holder Paul Sturgess, who stood slightly over 7-foot-7. Rioux also out-measured several notable hoops legends, like Chinese superstar Yao Ming (7-foot-6) and both Manute Bol and Gheorge Muresan, who stood 7-foot-7.
This isn’t Rioux’s first entry in the record books, either. In 2022, he entered the Guinness World Book of Records as the tallest living male teenager.
According to the Associated Press, Rioux had been given the option of playing very limited minutes last year or take a redshirt season (which preserves a year of NCAA eligibility), with the Canadian opting for the latter in order to develop off the court.
“It’s just mental and you just keep going and you just grind, I guess,” Rioux said of the wait.
As for how many appearance Rioux will make this season, Golden said that’s currently up in the air considering the team’s strength in the front court.
“He’s put in a lot of great work, and to his credit, he’s kept a great attitude without getting a lot of reward in terms of playing time and opportunity,” Golden said. “He went into this year knowing that our ability to get the front court to come back was going to limit his opportunities.
“Obviously, the game was in our control, and I thought it would be a good opportunity to get him out there and get his first college experience. I think he was pretty excited. It was pretty neat for him to finally see the floor. I would have liked him to get a touch.”