Olivier Rioux is the tallest school basketball participant of all-time. The true freshman on the College of Florida may also be essentially the most fascinating developmental venture within the sport’s historical past.
Scratch that— he’s essentially the most fascinating venture in D1 hoops.
Rioux just isn’t able to play 20 minutes per sport in a beginning function. Actually, it might be an enormous win if the Gators can get him on the ground in any capability subsequent season. A redshirt 12 months is probably going.
Nonetheless, head basketball coach Todd Golden and his workers are very excited to mildew him right into a star.
We take a look at him as a long-term funding, the place if he continues to purchase into our program and our coaches and our system that he’ll proceed to develop right into a participant who will help us persistently. He’s not there but and it would take him some time, however he’s positively some of the distinctive gamers in America.
— Todd Golden
Distinctive is a superb phrase to explain Rioux. He’s the Guinness World File holder for tallest teenager and has dominated a lot smaller opponents for a really very long time.
Olivier Rioux performed at IMG Academy in Florida and represented his residence nation of Canada throughout worldwide play within the spring. Different Division-I opponents couldn’t cease him on both finish of the courtroom.
With a mind-boggling highschool profession behind him, Rioux’s first 12 months in Gainesville bought underway with summer season exercises. Florida listed its incoming freshman at 7-foot-9 (in sneakers), which places him a lot nearer to eight ft tall than seven! He makes his teammates look miniscule.
The identical goes for his coaches!
You may’t educate top. Rioux has the entire intangibles, and he truly strikes fairly nicely for his dimension.
Nonetheless, Golden and the Gators workers put an emphasis on the little issues in an effort to make him even higher. They’ve him working primary Mikan drills, low-post routines that put an emphasis on footwork, sturdy palms and ending sturdy on the rim.
Maybe most significantly, Rioux is working. Loads.
They’re emphasizing cardio, which isn’t the most effective for me proper now. However we’re figuring out, engaged on issues. We’re attempting however want extra.
— Olivier Rioux
All the on-court abilities are necessary, however getting Rioux prepared for school basketball from a bodily standpoint is a good greater precedence.
My expectations for Olivier are to get him in the most effective form of his life, and that’s going to take a while He’s by no means been pushed up to now in his basketball journey, so his finest probability to have success is that if he will get in incredible form and learns methods to run and alter instructions, whether or not that’s offense-to-defense or defense-to-offense. Simply with the ability to transition forwards and backwards, up and down the courtroom.
— UF affiliate head coach Carlin Hartman
Though it appears unlikely, Golden just isn’t going to say that Olivier Rioux received’t play as a freshman. However Florida isn’t in a rush to get him on the courtroom. Persistence can be key together with his growth!