Long before he’d stepped foot in Gainesville or rejected a shot at the rim inside Florida’s basketball complex, Olivier Rioux had the world fascinated, though it wasn’t necessarily solely for his potential at the collegiate level.
Rather, Rioux’s height, standing now at 7-foot-9, 290 pounds, astounded not just the college basketball world – he was listed as the world’s tallest teenager according to the Guinness Book of World Records, having reached the six-foot mark before he’d finished the third grade.
Now, Rioux finds himself hopeful the focus surrounding him won’t solely focus on his stature, keen on carving out a role for himself in Gainesville as a preferred walk-on with the Florida men’s basketball program, a move described by UF head coach Todd Golden as an obvious one considering Rioux’s potential…