World's tallest teenager Olivier Rioux makes collegiate basketball history for Florida Gators

The Florida Gators were up large successful the 4th fourth of their triumph implicit North Florida connected Thursday, yet fans had 1 large petition for caput manager Todd Golden. 

They wanted to spot Olivier Rioux, the world’s tallest teen astatine 7-foot-9, marque his collegiate debut, arsenic chants of "We privation Ollie!" swept done the arena. 

Golden granted the vociferous crowd’s privation with 2:09 near to play successful the crippled erstwhile helium inserted Rioux. In Rioux’s 2 minutes of action, helium didn’t adjacent interaction the shot due to the fact that of the attraction helium commanded.

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North Florida defender Dante Oliver, left, and North Florida guardant Nestor Dyachok, right, defender against Florida halfway Olivier Rioux, center, during the 2nd fractional of an NCAA assemblage hoops crippled successful Gainesville, Florida, connected Nov. 6, 2025. (Chris Watkins/AP Photo)

"It felt great," Rioux said. "The enactment from everybody was amazing, adjacent connected the seat and adjacent the fans. I deliberation everybody supported me. I’m precise grateful."

Rioux’s quality lit the full arena up. Even North Florida guardant Trey Cady smirked erstwhile helium measured himself against a towering redshirt freshman. Rioux became the tallest subordinate ever to measurement connected the tribunal successful assemblage hoops history. 

When asked astir making history, Rioux quipped, "It’s different day, I guess."

Golden said the requests for Rioux to travel into the crippled began astatine halftime. 

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North Florida defender Trey Cady, beforehand right, defends against Florida halfway Olivier Rioux (32) during the 2nd fractional of an NCAA assemblage hoops crippled successful Gainesville, Florida, connected Nov. 6, 2025. (Chris Watkins/AP Photo)

"There’s radical yelling astatine maine astatine halftime astir playing him," Golden said. "I’m like, ‘Listen, it volition happen. The clip volition come.’"

Rioux is 2 inches (5 centimeters) taller than erstwhile NBA giants Gheorghe Muresan and Manute Bol, and 3 inches taller than fashionable large men Yao Ming, Tacko Fall and Shawn Bradley. 

Golden credited the Canadian autochthonal for his enactment ethic contempt not getting a batch of playing time. 

"He’s enactment successful a batch of large work," Golden said. "To his credit, he’s kept a large cognition without getting a batch of reward successful presumption of playing clip and opportunity."

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Olivier Rioux (32) of the Florida Gators looks connected from the seat during the archetypal fractional of a Hall of Fame Series crippled against the Arizona Wildcats astatine T-Mobile Arena successful Las Vegas, Nevada, connected Nov. 3, 2025. The Wildcats defeated the Gators 93-87. (David Becker/Getty Images)

Golden stressed the value to his players astatine halftime of gathering a large lead, truthful young players similar Rioux could get a accidental to play.

"I talked to the guys astatine halftime erstwhile we’re up 24 and I expressed to them the value of getting disconnected to a truly bully commencement truthful we tin get immoderate of the younger guys and immoderate of the guys from down connected the seat an accidental to play and to get immoderate rip," Golden said. "Obviously the crippled was successful our power and thought it would beryllium a bully accidental to get him retired determination and get his archetypal assemblage experience, and I deliberation helium was beauteous excited."

Rioux’s adjacent accidental to get connected the level is erstwhile the Gators instrumentality connected Florida State connected Tuesday astatine 7 p.m. ET. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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