Who is this 7-foot-9 athlete that is seemingly climbing to new heights and breaking records?
His name is Olivier Rioux, and he is committed to Florida for basketball.
Here is an all-you-need guide about the staggering 18-year-old prospect.
His parents are also tall
Rioux is a Terrebonne, Canada native who gets his height from his family. His father stands at 6-foot-8, while his mother is a mind-blowing 6-foot-2.
On his Instagram, which has over 100k followers, he lists himself as “7-7, 7-9 with shoes.”
He also added in his bio that his brother is 6-foot-9 and wears size 20 shoes. For reference, Shaquille O’Neal has the biggest shoe size in NBA history at 22.
He’s currently the No. 305 prospect
The three-star prospect is ranked No. 305, per 247 Sports.
Rioux’s shoes barely have to leave the ground to meet the rim, as he has a 93-inch wingspan.
He congests the paint efficiently, which allows him to grab rebounds alongside shielding opponents away from the rim.
On the offensive front, Rioux has grace while finishing at the rim. He is developing his coordination in quick reaction circumstances.
He played high school hoops at IMG Academy.
While his official high school stats are unavailable online, the Florida website claims he put up 4.5 points and 4.5 rebounds throughout the 2023 U18 FIBA AmeriCup.
His efforts helped Canada claim a bronze medal.
Rioux flashed upside at the tournament with 10 points versus Venezuela and nine rebounds against Puerto Rico.
It remains to be seen if his height and international success will translate to the NCAA level — and if it does, the possibility of him cracking an NBA lineup.
Rioux has a Guinness World Record
This is not the first uproar around Rioux.
In 2022, the Guinness World Book of Records listed him as the tallest living male teenager.
By the time Rioux was 8 years old, he was already standing at 6-foot-1. He entered middle school at 6-foot-11, and amassed the 7-foot mark the summer before entering seventh grade.
The average height of a male is 5-foot-9 and Rioux has towered to 7-foot-9, making just about any other person look minuscule next to him.
Where does he rank among the other tallest college players?
Five previous college players were listed as 7-foot-6, with Tacko Fall, a 2019 UCF graduate, being the most recent. Five guys have also been one inch shorter than the 7-foot-6 group.
Fifteen players have also passed through the collegiate hoops scene at 7-foot-4, but none compare to Rioux at 7-foot-9.
The average height for college basketball players is just under 6-foot-5, with the most common height being 6-foot-7.
Adding Rioux to the mix might change those numbers a little.
But let’s pump the brakes before the Yao Ming comparisons start pouring in.
