Florida center Olivier Rioux made history on Wednesday during his team’s 102-61 win over Saint Francis. Rioux, who stands at 7-foot-9, became the tallest player in college basketball history — at any level — to score a basket. His lone points of the game came with 42 seconds remaining, when he threw down a two-handed flush.
Rioux, 19, had previously appeared in two games this season for the reigning national champions. Rioux logged two minutes against North Florida last month and scored the first points of his college career against Merrimack two weeks later. The center from Canada logged three minutes in that game and went 1 of 2 from the free-throw line.
Here is Rioux’s basket against Saint Francis that made history.
In 2021, Guinness World Records declared Rioux the tallest teenager in the world at 7-foot-5. When he checked in against North Florida last month, he became the tallest college basketball player ever to appear in a game.
“It felt great,” Rioux, who redshirted his first season with the Gators, said after his first career game. “The support from everybody was amazing, even on the bench and even the fans. I think everybody supported me. I’m very grateful.”
Rioux did not appear in a game during the 2024-25 campaign for the Gators. Florida has one of the deepest frontcourts in the nation, led by Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon, Micah Handlogten and Rueben Chinyelu. Although Rioux isn’t part of the rotation yet, Wednesday was a positive sign for his overall development.
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