Olivier Riou fought his way down the lane, caught a pass from teammate C.J. Ingram and dunked, sending Florida's bench and home crowd into a frenzy.
Riu barely had time to leave his feet for this to happen.
The 7-foot-9 center and the world's tallest teenager recorded his first collegiate field goal in the 23rd-ranked Gators' 102-61 win over St. Francis on Wednesday night.
“Pretty special, man,” Gators coach Todd Golden said. “The transition, his vertical. Ooh. He was there, man.”
It was the most memorable play in a memorable game against superior opponents.
Florida fans watched as their team dominated every aspect of their first home game in nearly a month, then began chanting “We want Ollie” with just over six minutes left to play. Golden put the big man down at the two-minute mark, drawing the loudest ovation of the night.
Rioux struck, first with a hard defensive foul and then with an impressive drive to the basket on the other side. The Florida players celebrated wildly, jumping and pushing each other in celebration.
“We were just going crazy,” said Florida guard Shayvian Lee, who led the team with 18 points.
Joked teammate Alex Condon, who had 14 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three blocks: “Nice pass from CJ.”
Rioux became the tallest man to ever play college basketball when he debuted in a 104–64 win over North Florida in early November. Rioux, a 19-year-old redshirt freshman from Canada, drew so much attention from the Ospreys that he didn't even touch the ball.
Three games later, he scored a goal, converting a free kick after a foul. He also recorded his first rebound.
But this was different. It was a clear demonstration of how difficult it is to defend against Rioux, although Golden says his stamina only allows him to play for a couple of minutes at a time.
Riu is two inches (five centimeters) taller than former NBA giants Gheorghe Muresan and Manute Bol and three inches taller than popular big men Yao Ming, Tacko Fall and Sean Bradley. He already held a place in the Guinness Book of World Records when he signed with Florida in 2024.
Golden gave Rioux the option to play sparingly last season or take a redshirt season and work on his game. Riu chose the latter. Still, he was a walking viral video, from riding his bike around campus to ducking under every doorway and cutting through nets while standing on his feet during the NCAA Tournament in Florida.
Golden made it clear that Rioux would only play late because of the departures due to all four frontcourt players returning. But Olivier reiterated his desire to be in Florida and welcomed the opportunity to play against Alex Condon, Thomas Ho, Ruben Cignelu and Mika Handlogten in training and behind them in games.
But he always attracts more – literally.
