FOr those who call themselves “tall,” meet Olivier Rioux, a high school senior who signed to play for the University of Florida last fall. Rioux is ridiculously tall – 7 feet 9 inches (currently) to be exact. Whether playing with or huddled with high school-age teammates, the 300-pound beanpole looks like one of those adults who impersonates teenage players just to get the thrill of beating up kids. The only thing Rioux isn’t great about is his story.
Rioux has been on a growth spurt for some time: He was 5 feet 2 inches tall in kindergarten. By the time he was eight years old, he was 6 feet 1 inch tall. When he was 12 years old and 7 feet tall, he would dwarf the 6-foot-9 LeBron James. Around that time, highlight reels of him dominating matches with minimal equipment began circulating on social media, an optical illusion that rivaled sartorial memes. (Are the other kids six feet or six?) Four years ago, Guinness World Records declared Rioux, then 14, at 7 feet 5 inches, the world’s tallest teenager. That would put Rioux a step above 7-foot-4 NBA Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama. He even surpasses NBA legends such as Georgi Muresan (7-foot-7), Yao Ming (7-foot-6), and Sim Brar (7-foot-5). “People see his size,” Canadian national team assistant coach Michael Meeks said of Rieu, “and their expectations are really high.”
Rioux isn’t the only skyscraper in his family. His father was a photographer and might have had the chance to be called this Standing 6 feet 8 inches tall, he excelled in his profession. His mother is 6 feet 1 inches tall and was a volleyball player. His older brother is 6 feet 9 inches tall and a former basketball player. Among other insults, Riou had to endure people pointing and yelling to get his attention wherever he went. “Of course, I’m tall,” Riu told Naples Daily News. “But that’s not a reason to yell. I mean, it’s kind of funny, but it’s also kind of frustrating when they do it.
Rieu is from a suburb of Montreal and grew up speaking only French – something he probably wouldn’t have picked up if he’d started playing hockey like most kids his age. But before anyone had time to consider the damage the sport could do to a kid, he was no longer comfortable with the sport, as by age 10 he was already three inches taller than the tallest player in the NHL today .
The language barrier didn’t become an issue until 2021, when Rioux was sent to the prestigious IMG Sports Academy in Florida to improve his basketball skills — and one imagines that once he encounters more talented players of his size he will This skill is required. But this does not mean that his expertise Because dunking without taking your feet off won’t come in handy.
Private tutoring has done wonders for improving Rioux’s academic abilities and understanding of basketball coaching. (“It was good,” Rieu said of his first year at Florida. “My production improved.”) Still, given the recent string of games, you can’t help but wonder whether USA Basketball should revisit French? “We have a lot of young kids who believe,” French giant Rudy Gobert told ESPN’s Mark Spears after watching three of his compatriots go in the top six of this year’s draft. “It was the older generations who paved the way for us in the beginning and now we are paving the way for the young people.”
France appears to be at the same basketball inflection point that Canada was five years ago, when a record six Canadians emerged from draft boards in the days after the Toronto Raptors won the country’s first NBA championship. Steve Nash is no longer the flag-bearer on the field for the Great North. Today, Canadian basketball players come in many styles: superstar (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander), stopgap (RJ Barrett), street tough (Dillon Brooks). But even as Rioux threatens to break the mold as Canada’s top player, one can’t help but feel he might be 20 years too late.
Basketball was once a sport dominated by big men like Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O’Neal who dominated the paint. But as the rules have changed to allow for freer play, and statistical analysis has divided teams into those that prioritize dunks and 3-pointers, height alone is no longer enough: seven-footers often lose their height advantage and compete The game is along the perimeter, much like Karl-Anthony Towns has had varying degrees of success in Minnesota. Another example is Wembanyama, who was taught to play all five field positions, although he quickly developed into center and typified this positionless style of play outside of the United States.
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We can already see how this affects the draft. In the 1980s, 7-foot-4 Zach Edey might have been the first to go. But on Wednesday, the Canuck fell to ninth place — behind a series of Towns-like towers — despite asserting one of the most beautiful post-up arsenals in the college game.
It’s a stretch to say Rioux can even approach the NBA: He has to prove he can actually play. The statistics on him come primarily from his time with Canada’s under-18 team, and those numbers (he averaged less than 10 points and 10 rebounds per game) don’t exactly bode well for the giant he is. It would be extremely difficult to maintain a basic level of coordination at Rieu’s height, let alone if he grew taller. Wembanya has the skill and balance of a smaller player, which makes him a wonder on the court. Rieu was now five inches taller than Winby, and by all accounts, he was still growing. Rieu is already working on body types that are more prone to injury.
That’s why Rieu will start his Florida Gators career as a walk-on player, meaning he has to earn a spot in the team’s rotation in order to earn a scholarship. But in Florida, a basketball powerhouse that has produced its fair share of professional players, Riou has a chance to stand out on the national stage. If onlookers are still pointing and yelling behind him, it’s because of the heights Rieu can still reach.
