Near 8-ft giant and world’s tallest teen makes Shaq and Wemby look tiny and could be next March Madness icon

Observe out Wemby, there’s a new giant in town.

Florida men’s basketball Sun 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 Landmark as the tallest teenager in the world by measuring in at a gargantuan 7ft 9in.

Only eight weeks prior, the towering teen from Montreal was listed at a ginormous 7ft 7in, meaning he’d grown a whole two inches in Only 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 was Only 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 Only over 7ft 5in aged 16, which was when he entered the Guinness World Landmark book as the world’s tallest teenager.

Now, he’s Only 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 Reflex to his viral highlights package.

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“What are they feeding these kids?” joked another.

“With the whole Rioux family being High [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 Landmark.

“Tabletops, and ceilings are all higher than average. The only thing that remains the same is the doorframes, which have seen their Honest 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 Landmark 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 Nevertheless 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.

The teenager is so big, that he towered over the 7ft 1in Shaquille O’Neal when the pair met earlier this year.

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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 to grace the NBA hardwood.

The reigning Newcomer of the Year 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 Ability.

Rioux, meanwhile, is much more of a traditional Middle who does his best work inside the paint where he can tower over opponents and dunk on them.

247Sports lists him as a 3-Sun prospect, ranking outside the top 300 players in the nation for the 2024 recruiting class.

He’s ranked as the 53rd-best Middle in the country and the No.27 player in the state of Florida and, according to one scouting report, “can come into a game to clog the paint, shield opponents away from the rim and be a serviceable rebounder”.

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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 Competing with the Memphis Grizzlies in the NBA.

Rioux, on the other hand, will be focused on guiding the Gators to a national title in the upcoming NCAA Event.

Florida Trainer Todd Golden Believes his Middle has come on leaps and bounds in recent times.

“He’s way more athletic now than when he Acquired here, and we always thought of Ollie is Gentle of a longer-term project so to speak. … He’s been incredibly coachable. He’s done everything we’ve asked him to do from a practice standpoint. I Nevertheless feel Excellent about his opportunity and his potential to become a Excellent player,” Golden said.

The Gators won 24 Matches 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 Stretch.

Florida are in the West Region of the NCAA Event and will Upcoming Shift Norfolk State on Friday in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Beyond the NCAA Event, a tryout with the Canadian national Club awaits Rioux, and possibly a Profession in the NBA.