IMG center Olivier Rioux set to become the tallest college basketball player ever

Standing nearly 8-feet tall, Rioux signs to play with the Florida Gators

Former IMG Academy center Oliver Rioux, who stands 7-feet-9 inches, is set to become the tallest college basketball player of all time after signing to play in the SEC with the Florida Gators. / Casey Brooke Lawson via IMG Acaemy

BRADENTON, FLORIDA – IMG Academy is known for producing many sports stars, from the gridiron to the hardwood, since the Florida high school athletic powerhouse was established in 1978. 

Now, the Ascenders have taken things up a few notches - up to 7-feet-9 to be exact. 

That's the height of Olivier Rioux, an 18-old Montreal native, who signed last year with the University of Florida men's basketball team and will begin his college career this fall. With a growth spurt since then, Rioux will become the tallest college basketball player of all time once he suits up for the Gators. In addition to his nearly 8-foot frame, Rioux is a slender 290-pounds.

“We’re still not 100 percent sure why I’m so tall - after investigation, doctors could only explain it with the genetics that my family has," said Rioux to the Guiness Book of World Records. "My father is 6-8, my mom is 6-2 and my older brother is 6-9. So we’re a pretty tall family." 

Rioux was already 6-foot-1 at the age of eight and rose to 6-feet-11 by the time he reached the sixth grade. He then shot past the 7-foot mark in the seventh grade.

Rioux, considered a 3-star prospect by 247Sports, will tower over his opponents on a nightly basis once he reaches Gainesville. 

7'9" basketball player Olivier Rioux, world's tallest teenager, set to become tallest college basketball player ever pic.twitter.com/Qvgn2VozuA

— History&Facts (@HistoryAnd26642) June 21, 2024

“It’s a good environment and people are very nice," Rioux told USA Today about his decision to join the Gators. "I felt like I would fit in that program and the people are very mature. I felt like I could get taught a lot of stuff.”

The most amazing fact is that Rioux could get taller still.

Last November he was measured at a mere 7-foot-6 and has grown three inches since then. Two months ago the Guiness certified Rioux as the talest teenage in the world at 7-feet-7, a record which he has now extended by two inches. Last season, Missouri's Connor Vanover and Ole Miss' Jamarion Sharp each played at 7-feet-5, four inches shorter than Rioux's current height. The two tallest players in NBA history, Gheorghe Muresan and Manute Bol, each topped out at 7-feet-7 inches.

Last year for Canada’s 2023 U18 FIBA AmeriCup team, Rioux averaged 4.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Three years ago, Rioux averaged 8.3 points and 10.3 rebounds for Canada’s 2021 FIBA U16 Americas Championship. 

At Florida, the Gators are expected to take Rioux's development slowly, considering him a project which they will not count on during his freshman season.

“With the whole Rioux family being tall [his father is 6ft 8in and his mother is 6ft 2in], Olivier’s childhood home was updated to accommodate everyone’s stature,” wrote Guinness in presenting him with the record. “Tabletops, and ceilings are all higher than average. The only thing that remains the same is the doorframes, which have seen their fair 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 record 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 got it!”

-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com  | @sblivefl