Florida basketball commit Olivier Rioux
Photo from X

Florida Basketball Just Landed the Tallest Teenager in the World

The Florida Gators have a new 2024 college basketball commit, and he's dubbed "the world's tallest teenager."

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His name is Olivier Rioux, and he currently attends IMG Academy in Florida. He's billed as either seven-foot-six or seven-foot-seven.

Rioux took to Instagram to make his announcement.

"I am proud to announce that I have commited to the Florida gators for the 2024 season. I want to thank all my coaches from @imgabasketball and @brookwoodelite in helping me in this process. The adventure continue in Florida ! #trusttheprocess #basketball #gatornation #commited," he wrote.

Rioux is considered a 3-star recruit, per 247Sports. He chose the Gators over Stetson and Florida Atlantic.

He's now the second player from the 2024 class to commit to Florida, joining Orlando-based shooting guard Isaiah Brown.

The Gators haven't made the tournament since 2021. When they made it then, they were a No. 7 seed.

This season, the Gators will be under the tutelage of Todd Golden. He's in his second season coaching the team after Billy Donovan left for the NBA.

Golden has a lot to live up to. Donovan won back-to-back national titles with the Gators in the past with players like Al Horford, Joakim Noah, and Corey Brewer.

Following the commitment, the Internet expressed their thoughts on X.

"The league is gonna be full of Wembanyamas in 5 years," one user wrote. 

"Dude has to bend down to dunk," another wrote.

"Bro probably has the rarest build of all time .. he's 7'7 and isn't extremely skinny if he gets to the NBA it's over," someone else said. 
Travis Branham of 247 Sports has this to say about the teenager, "Olivier Rioux is a 7-foot-6 center that takes up immense space on the floor but isn't the most fleet of foot. In short 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 good hands and touch on the offensive side of the ball but will need to continue developing his coordination especially in quick reaction circumstances."

MORE: Top 25 College Basketball Players For the 2023-24 Season