Tallest college basketball player ever, standing at 7-foot-9, entering transfer portal

The mean tallness of a men's hoops programme volition summation importantly adjacent season.

That's due to the fact that Olivier Rioux, the tallest assemblage hoops subordinate ever, is transferring retired of the University of Florida.

The 7-foot-9 20-year-old announced his determination successful an Instagram post, wherever helium thanked his coaches for "believing successful me, for trusting me, and for pushing maine to make each azygous day," arsenic good arsenic "trainers, managers, and enactment staff."

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Center Olivier Rioux of the Florida Gators checks into the crippled for defender Urban Klavzar of the Florida Gators during the assemblage hoops crippled betwixt the Florida Gators and the Georgia Bulldogs connected Feb. 11, 2026, astatine Stegeman Coliseum successful Athens, Georgia. (Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Rioux said helium took clip "to bespeak connected my jersey and what's champion for my future."

"It’s genuinely hard to enactment into words what these past 2 years and this acquisition has meant to me. From being raised successful the state of Quebec backmost location successful Canada, to representing this unthinkable program, wearing these colors and competing astatine the highest level has been 1 of the top honors of my life…" Rioux wrote.

"Winning the nationalist title past twelvemonth was a imagination travel existent for each of us. It’s thing we worked for each azygous day, and to acquisition that infinitesimal unneurotic is thing I volition cherish forever. I volition instrumentality these memories with maine for the remainder of my life.

"To the alumni and Florida Victorious, convey you for gathering the bequest that we’re truthful arrogant to represent. And to my teammates, my brothers, convey you for each moment, each battle, each joke, and each memory. The enslaved we stock is untouchable. And astir importantly, convey you to each Gator Nation. Your energy, passion, and enactment mean everything to me. You’ve stood by maine done it all, and I’m everlastingly grateful to beryllium a portion of this family. This clip unneurotic volition ever clasp a peculiar spot successful my heart. Until we conscionable again. Thank you, merci."

Florida Gators halfway Olivier Rioux gives a instrumentality a high-five aft the game. The Florida Gators hosted the Grambling Tigers astatine Exactech Area astatine the Stephen C. O'Connell Center successful Gainesville, Florida connected Monday, Nov. 11, 2024.  (Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun)

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Rioux played sparingly successful 2 years with the Gators, redshirting arsenic a existent freshman during the team's nationalist title play and past getting connected the tribunal successful mop-up work this past season. He played 15 full minutes, finishing with 7 points, six rebounds , and an assist.

Rioux became the tallest idiosyncratic to ever play assemblage hoops erstwhile helium made his debut successful a 104-64 triumph implicit North Florida past November. He scored 3 games later, making a escaped propulsion aft getting fouled. He besides recorded his archetypal rebound.

Rioux is 2 inches taller than erstwhile NBA giants Gheorghe Muresan and Manute Bol, and 3 inches taller than fashionable large men Yao Ming, Tacko Fall and Shawn Bradley.

Head manager Todd Golden gave Rioux the enactment of playing sparingly arsenic a existent freshman oregon taking a redshirt play and moving connected his game. Rioux chose the latter. After each 4 frontcourt players returned, Golden made it wide earlier the play that Rioux would lone play precocious successful blowouts. 

Florida Gators halfway Olivier Rioux (32) and Prairie View A&M Panthers guardant Hassane Diallo (11) look connected during a first-round crippled of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament astatine Benchmark International Arena successful Tampa, Florida, connected Mar. 20, 2026. (Matt Pendleton/Imagn Images)

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But Rioux doubled down connected wanting to beryllium astatine Florida and welcomed the situation of playing against Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh, Rueben Chinyelu, and Micah Handlogten successful signifier and down them successful games.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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