The swamp is getting larger in Gainesville, Florida.
The Florida Gators are set to bring in Canadian big man Olivier Rioux later this year to clog up the paint, and he is going to be in the record books.
Olivier Rioux, 18, is listed as 7 feet, 9 inches tall. (Casey Brooke Lawson/ IMG Academy)
Rioux, 18, is listed as 7 feet, 9 inches tall on the Gators’ website, which would make him the tallest college basketball player ever.
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He does not hold the record just yet, as he has not played college ball at the moment, but when he does, he will surpass Paul Sturgess, the 7 feet, 8 inch giant who played at Florida Tech and Mountain State. He later went on to become a Harlem Globetrotter.
According to the site, Rioux is the Guinness World Record holder for tallest teenager, standing at 7 feet, 5 inches as a 15-year-old.
Olivier Rioux will become the tallest college basketball player ever once he begins his collegiate career. (IMG Academy)
He stood 6 feet, 1 inch at age 8; 6 feet, 11 inches by sixth grade; and reached 7 feet during the summer before entering seventh grade.
Rioux has since had another growth spurt, gaining four inches in the last two years, according to Ball Is Life.
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Rioux says he wears a size 20 shoe on his Instagram bio. He says his older brother is 6 feet, 9 inches; his dad is 6 feet, 8 inches; and his mom is 6 feet, 1 inch.
Rioux played high school ball at the IMG Academy and was a three-star prospect.
He is listed on MaxPreps as the 376th-ranked player in his class and the 56th-ranked center.
(Olivier Rioux played high school basketball at IMG Academy.)
Rioux helped Canada to a bronze medal at the 2023 U18 FIBA AmeriCup while averaging 4.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, including 10 points vs. Venezuela and nine rebounds vs. Puerto Rico.
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The Gators last won it all in 2007, which was the second of back-to-back titles.
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