Olivier Rioux Makes History in Gators' Win Over UNF

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Florida Gators center Olivier Rioux may have only played in two minutes in Thursday's win over North Florida. However, those two minutes put him in college basketball lore.

With his appearance, his first since joining Florida as a walk-on ahead of last season, the 7-foot-9 Rioux is now officially the tallest player ever in Division One college basketball history.

"It felt great. The support from everybody was amazing," Rioux said. "Even on the bench and even with the fans. Everybody supported me. I’m very grateful."

Olivier Rioux, the world’s tallest teenager, makes his #Gators debut pic.twitter.com/nszYImBzw3
— Cam Parker (@camparker25) November 7, 2025

Rioux, a redshirt freshman from Quebec, Canada, and the Guinness World Record holder for world's tallest teenager, entered the Gators' 104-64 win over UNF with 2:09 left in the game to chants of "Ollie! Ollie! Ollie!" from the UF Rowdy Reptiles student section.

Head coach Todd Golden said the coaching staff discussed letting the redshirt freshman make his debut at halftime.

"I can be stubborn, you know, I don't listen to direction very well at times. So when they're yelling at me to do it, it kind of, ‘Alright, maybe I'll wait a little longer,'" Golden joked, before admitting they wanted to wait as long as possible because once Rioux went in, they had no plans to sub him out.

Those two minutes, albeit without any stats, were the culmination of over a year of developmental work from Rioux. As Florida won the program's third national title, Rioux watched from the bench as a redshirt player whom Golden said that preseason would not likely see the floor at all.

Micah Handlogten, who spent much time with Rioux in practice while recovering from an ankle injury from the 2024 SEC Tournament Final, saw that work firsthand.

"When he was checking into the game, I kind of stopped him and I was like, 'Play with confidence. You worked your butt off for two years now to get to this spot. Now's your moment. It's your time to shine,'" Handlogten said. "Seeing him out there running up and down the court with a little smile on his face, it was really good to see."

North Florida Ospreys guard Dante Oliver (6-5) and forward Nestor Dyachok (6-9) attempt to box out Florida Gators center Olivier Rioux (7-9). | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Golden specifically praised Rioux's attitude during that developmental year last season.

“Listen, he's put in a lot of great work, and to his credit, he's kept a great attitude without getting a lot of reward in terms of playing time and opportunity. He went into this year knowing that our ability to get the frontcourt to come back was going to limit his opportunities," Golden said. "... It was pretty neat for him to finally see the floor."

For Rioux, the time on the floor and accolade are not a big deal.

Last year, Rioux explained that he embraces the attention that comes with his height - attention that includes multiple selfie requests on UF campus every day. However, he doesn't let that define him. Much was the same on Thursday night.

"It’s another day I guess," he said.

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