Florida Gators fans received some massive news on the recruiting front on Wednesday night. Emphasis on massive, as they had the world’s tallest teenager officially commit to their basketball program.
Olivier Rioux, currently a player at top high-school basketball prep school IMG Academy, was named the world’s tallest teenager in 2022 by the Guinness Books of World Records, and was even featured in their World Records book for the year.
He is only ranked as a three-star recruit by On3 Sports. But considering he stands at 7’6”, he is clearly an extremely sought-after prospect simply due to the fact that not many other teams can match his sheer size.
Several Division One teams offered Rioux a scholarship. This includes Florida Atlantic, Nebraska, and Florida. He finally made his decision on Wednesday night, taking to social media to reveal his commitment to Florida to the public.
“I am proud to announce that I have committed to the Florida Gators for the 2024 season,” wrote Rioux on Instagram. “I want to thank all my coaches in helping me in this process. The adventure continues in Florida!”
Fans took to social media to offer their opinions on this commitment from Rioux.
It’s obviously unclear at this point how much of an impact Rioux will have at Florida. But you simply can’t teach the kind of size and physicality he brings to any team.
We have undoubtedly seen how important size can be in college basketball. This is particularly the case with the Purdue Boilermakers the past few seasons. Purdue has been amongst the best teams in the entire sport, in large part thanks to 7’4” star big man Zach Edey.
Florida fans are certainly hoping that Rioux has a similar impact at Florida next season as Edey has brought to Purdue in his career.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.