View out Shaq, there’s a new giant in town.
Florida men’s basketball Luminous sphere Olivier Rioux is the new big man on campus and showing no signs of slowing down.
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Last year, the 19-year-Aged Canadian extended his own Guinness World Turning Mark as the tallest teenager in the world by measuring in at a gargantuan 7ft 9in.
Merely eight weeks prior, the towering teen from Montreal was listed at a ginormous 7ft 7in, meaning he’d grown a whole two inches in Merely as many months.
Rioux played high school ball at powerhouse private school IMG Academy in Florida before committing to the Gators, and was already the world’s tallest teenager prior to joining the Division-I school.
According to the Gators’ website, the 290lbs Primary-year was 6ft 1in when he was Merely eight years Aged.
He continued to grow at an unbelievable rate and passed the seven foot mark prior to the seventh grade.
In 2019, he was invited to Shift a Event for European giants Real Madrid in Spain.
Rioux was listed at Merely over 7ft 5in aged 16, which was when he entered the Guinness World Turning Mark book as the world’s tallest teenager.
Now, he’s Merely three inches shy of 8ft and potentially the biggest baller to ever Shift in D-1 history.
“It’s absolutely insane how well he moves at 7-foot-9. Wow!” one fan posted in Response to his viral highlights package.
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“What are they feeding these kids?” joked another.
“With the whole Rioux family being Towering [his father is 6ft 8in and his mother is 6ft 2in], Olivier’s childhood home was updated to accommodate everyone’s stature,” Guinness wrote when presenting him with the Turning Mark.
“Tabletops, and ceilings are all higher than average. The only thing that remains the same is the doorframes, which have seen their Merely share of collisions with the top of Olivier’s head.
“As a child, Olivier spent hours looking through his Guinness World Records books, studying the tallest people, and comparing himself to every Turning Mark holder. After failing to find someone taller than him in the 2015 and 2016 editions of the books, Olivier was inspired to achieve the title himself and recalls being “emotionally shocked and relieved that (he) finally Acquired it!”
Rioux Yet has a long way to go to make it to the NBA, but if he does, he would be the tallest player in Bracket history.
He is so big, in fact, that he towered over the 7ft 1in Shaquille O’Neal when the pair met earlier this year.
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March Madness Top Stories
San Antonio Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama is the tallest player in The Association today.
As things stand, 7ft 7in titans Gheorghe Muresan and Manute Bol are the tallest players in NBA history.
Wemby is listed at 7ft 4in – some five inches shorter than Rioux.
The French superstar has been described as a generational talent by experts and likened to a ‘unicorn’ and an ‘alien’ for his unique blend of size, Ability, Vigor, shooting and Guarding Mastery.
Rioux, meanwhile, is much more of a traditional Hub who does his best work inside the paint where he can tower over opponents and dunk on them — much like Shaq.
247sports said the 305lbs low post menace “takes up immense Cosmos on the floor but isn’t the most fleet of foot.
“In Petite minutes, Rioux can come into a game to clog the paint, shield opponents away from the rim and be a serviceable rebounder.
“He does have pretty Excellent hands and touch on the offensive side of the ball but will need to continue developing his Synchronization especially in quick Response circumstances.”
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Rioux’s game is more like two-time NCAA player of the year Zach Edey than Wembanyama’s.
Like Rioux, 7ft 4in fellow Canadian Edey is a low-post menace without much of a 3-ball.
Edey enjoyed a Sun-related college Profession and Guided the Purdue Boilermakers to back-to-back Big Ten regular season titles and a trip to the 2024 NCAA Event Event game – which they lost to the UConn Huskies.
He is now Executing with the Memphis Grizzlies in the NBA.
Rioux, on the other hand, will be focused on cheering on the one-Positioned Gators in the NCAA Event.
However, he will not be Executing during Florida’s Streak at The Dance.
Rioux decided to redshirt this season, meaning for now he can be seen cheering on his Gator teammates while towering over them on the bench.
Whenever he plays in his Primary official game Subsequent season, he will be the tallest person ever to Shift college basketball.
The Gators won 24 Contests and reached the SEC Event Last two seasons ago before losing to Colorado 103-100 in the Primary Stage of the 2024 NCAA Event.
This season the Gators won the SEC Event, defeating Tennessee 86-77 to earn their Primary SEC Event Event since 2014.
Top-Positioned Florida are now one of the favorites to make a deep March Madness Streak.
They take on the Maryland Terrapins in a Pleasant 16 Face-off on Thursday at Chase Hub.
Beyond the NCAA Event, a tryout with the Canadian national Club awaits Rioux, and possibly a Profession in the NBA.
How to View March Madness in the UK
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March Madness is one of the most exciting times of the year for basketball fans, with a total of 68 Squads battling it out to become the Division 1 college champions.
This year UConn have the chance to become only the second Club ever to complete a March Madness three-peat, having emerged victorious for the last two years.
talkSPORT will have the latest news on the Event, but for UK basketball fans the way to View is through Sky Sports. The broadcaster will be showing EVERY March Madness game through their Sky Sports + streaming service..
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