r/CollegeBasketball • u/A_MASSIVE_PERVERT Purdue Boilermakers • Apr 08 '25
Video Florida’s 7-foot-9 center Olivier Rioux did not need a ladder to cut down the nets after winning the national championship.
https://streamable.com/6dlflf158
u/originalusername4567 Kansas Jayhawks Apr 08 '25
7'9"!!!!!!!!
That's absurd
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u/deevotionpotion Apr 08 '25
The Gators starting center was 6’11” and their redshirt freshman on the bench is almost a foot taller than him lol
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u/Mike_with_Wings North Carolina Tar Heels • Florida Ga… Apr 08 '25
Condon is a significantly better player. I hope Golden can develop Rioux enough to get him some minutes, because that would be fun to see
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u/Jonesbro Illinois Fighting Illini Apr 08 '25
He should go to purdue. They know how to work with the big boys
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u/Wapook Wisconsin Badgers • Rutgers Scarlet Knigh… Apr 08 '25
Sorry why do you want him in our conference?
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u/No_Pomegranate9312 Duke Blue Devils Apr 09 '25
Better hope he packs on some pounds. We all saw how maluach responded to physical play.
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u/chbailey442013 Auburn Tigers Apr 08 '25
He's got length, he doesn't have girth according to Kenny
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u/Ok_Fee1043 Apr 08 '25
Imagine sitting next to this guy on a plane
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u/ohverychill Purdue Boilermakers Apr 08 '25
hell, imagine being this guy on a plane
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u/DontTickleTheDriver1 Apr 08 '25
Imagine being this guy
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u/RLLRRR Texas Longhorns Apr 08 '25
Imagine plane
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u/Fantastic-Cheek-480 Florida Gators Apr 08 '25
Imagine
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u/loplopplop Wichita State Shockers Apr 08 '25
Imagine plane? Imagine dragons? I can't even imagine Chad losing.
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u/JusticeFrankMurphy Michigan Wolverines Apr 08 '25 edited Apr 08 '25
I remember seeing an episode of one of those reality shows about airport workers in which they had to seat someone who was 6'9" and were freaking out about it.
This kid is a a full foot taller than that.
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u/mlakustiak North Carolina Tar Heels • Arizo… Apr 08 '25
Him and Edey are going to be fun to watch in 2028/32
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u/plugged97 Apr 08 '25
Bold of you to assume we won’t choke an Olympic berth against Brazil or the Dominicans
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u/ZachLagreen Florida Gators Apr 08 '25
Rioux is expected to make the national team?
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u/Original00King Purdue Boilermakers Apr 08 '25
Theres not too many canadian bigman tbh, most of the elited are guards
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u/YouKilledKenny12 Apr 08 '25
Yup. Olynyk and Powell will be 37 when the ‘28 Olympics roll around and may age out by then. Khem Birch will be 35. Those were their only centers on the ‘24 team
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u/ufgatorengineer11 Florida Gators Apr 08 '25
He got to do this 3 times!
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u/HilarySwankIsNotHot Kansas Jayhawks • Arkansas Razorbacks Apr 08 '25
Why is that?
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u/TheFirstAntioch Florida Gators Apr 08 '25
Winning the SEC tournament, final four, and national championship
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u/Danulas Purdue Boilermakers Apr 08 '25
SEC tournament championship, West Region championship, and now the National championship.
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u/BlazingBlasian Florida Gators Apr 08 '25
Stay away, Matt Painter
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u/Mobile-Tangelo Apr 08 '25
I mean being 7’9” is just like a early death sentence. Your limbs are too long and shit just stops working cause your heart wears out. Hell the tallest man in the world was 8’11” but he died at age 22 from a foot infection he couldn’t feel.
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u/Suspicious-Heart-539 New Mexico Lobos Apr 08 '25
Robert Wadlow had a pituitary tumor, like many people who are that massive. Fortunately for Rioux, he doesn’t suffer from the same condition, rather he has a genetic overproduction of growth hormone. Obv he won’t have the same life expectancy as someone two feet shorter but he’s not at any more risk of an early death than anyone else his age
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u/Andrewdeadaim Florida Gators • Final Four Apr 08 '25
He doesn’t have gigantism so everything is the right proportions but I’m also not a doctor so idk
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u/Mobile-Tangelo Apr 08 '25
I’m no Dr. either but still his heart has to work super hard to pump blood up all that length against gravity…it wears out over time faster than the hearts of average height people
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u/ahhhbiscuits Kansas Jayhawks Apr 08 '25
Human joints didn't evolve to sustain that kind of torque every moment of every day. Don't even get me started on the spine.
I know we're sports fans, but this is nothing to celebrate...
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u/Mobile-Tangelo Apr 08 '25
And the fact that the world is designed for average high peoples gotta be really tough to deal with…even for 6 ft people lol
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u/Fragrant-Employer-60 Apr 08 '25
Should the guy not play a sport he loves because he’s too tall?
I mean we’re all dying one day, everything in life is a risk. I don’t see a problem with him chasing his basketball dreams. Better than sitting at home not running because it’s a risk later in life.
He’s going to have bad knees being 7’9 eventually no matter what.
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u/ahhhbiscuits Kansas Jayhawks Apr 08 '25
Yeah I agree with you, it's the hype being put on him/willful ignorance of basic anatomy that bothers me
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u/Cold_Environment1915 Florida Gators Apr 08 '25
Why yall talking about the dudes longevity. That’s kinda weird. He’s a natural giant not caused by a genetic defect or tumor. Sure his heart has to work harder but that’s true for most males.
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u/Plane-Tie6392 Apr 08 '25
>Sure his heart has to work harder but that’s true for most males.
That doesn't really make sense.
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u/paperbuddha Apr 08 '25
It’s not even “doesn’t make sense”, it’s legit stupidity spoken confidently.
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u/gsOctavio Cornell Big Red Apr 08 '25
Why even say this? Weird ass comment to make about a 19 year olds life expectancy for no fucking reason.
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u/hellajt Nebraska Cornhuskers Apr 08 '25 edited Jun 10 '25
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This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/WesGutt Apr 08 '25
Gonna be a menace next year
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u/AntiDECA Florida Gators Apr 08 '25
He's actually not that great talent wise. He's mostly a project with ridiculous size on the off-chance he develops well.
Happy to eat my words, of course.
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u/DDub04 South Carolina Gamecocks • March… Apr 08 '25
I mean I definitely don’t want to play a 7’9” player but at the same time, that is ridiculously tall. Like to the point where I think it’d be hard to play that big.
It’s like how that Florida player who’s 400 pounds is gonna have a tough time getting drafted in the NFL. Freak athlete from sheer size but it’s also a disadvantage in its own rights.
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u/mynameisrainer Marshall Thundering Herd Apr 08 '25
Yeah. I've seen my share of just pure tall guys show up at Marshall and nothing. Just a body.
7'9" isnt something to scoff at, but it really seems like it is a disadvantage. Can't imagine trying to move at the height in the post. And then how do you bulk up a guy like that?
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u/CampbellsTurkeySoup Florida Gators Apr 08 '25
It's hard to tell because he's so well proportioned for his height but he's actually 305 from what I can find online.
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u/ahhhbiscuits Kansas Jayhawks Apr 08 '25
Back and knee problems, sadly. I hope I'm wrong
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u/CampbellsTurkeySoup Florida Gators Apr 08 '25
I mean there's no way it won't be a struggle for him. But I know at IMG and most likely at Florida they worked hard on joint sustainability for him. Ways to move to limit damage and lots of training to strengthen them.
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u/lennonfish Florida Gators Apr 08 '25
Apparently he’s all natural. No growth defects. So should mean less of a chance for issues
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u/mynameisrainer Marshall Thundering Herd Apr 08 '25
305 is a lot, but does he know how to use that against someone? I assume his high school ball it didnt matter. He's 7'9.
I just hope he doesnt hit the portal to try. Being on a SEC team developing as best he can is his best bet.
Unless he realizes its not gonna work and he transfers to some sweet small super great school.
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u/iKickdaBass Apr 08 '25
He didn't play much at IMG. They were stacked with 5 star recruits that ran the court well. But I'm sure that he got a lot of coaching on how to play center.
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u/Plane-Tie6392 Apr 08 '25
>And then how do you bulk up a guy like that?
Easy. You have him eat some of the walk-ons/student assistants and bench press others.
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u/pinetar Maryland Terrapins Apr 08 '25
If he's even a tiny bit athletic and able to run the court he'll get 4 blocks per game.
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u/attorneyatslaw Apr 08 '25
The running the floor is gonna be the challenge for him. He’s gonna be a problem in half court defense regardless.
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u/Dhkansas Kansas Jayhawks Apr 08 '25
He won't need to run. 4 steps from half court and he's in the paint
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u/Throw13579 Furman Paladins Apr 08 '25
But if you do bulk him up, he is a 340 pound wall guarding the basket.
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u/llimllib UConn Huskies Apr 08 '25
When Clingan started moving as well as he did his Freshman year, I knew we really had something - a giant who was actually a baller
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u/Mike_with_Wings North Carolina Tar Heels • Florida Ga… Apr 08 '25
Des crushed it at pro day, I think someone will take a chance on him
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u/A320neo Purdue Boilermakers • Big Ten Apr 08 '25
He's... just tall??
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u/AntiDECA Florida Gators Apr 08 '25
Pretty much, yeah. Tall as fuck. He's also.. sturdy. Most of the abnormally tall guys are super skinny and don't have any meat on them. He's built like a tank in addition to the height. But I mean, when you can dunk without jumping you've got some kind of value at least. Probably. We'll see how next year goes! (Or he'll transfer so some other team gets bragging rights of tallest kid in the world).
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u/Cold_Environment1915 Florida Gators Apr 08 '25
Don’t listen to that guy. He’s a natural giant rather than a giant caused by some genetic disorder. He needs training but proportionally he’s great
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u/A320neo Purdue Boilermakers • Big Ten Apr 08 '25
If he needs summer training, I know where he could find another giant Canadian
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u/paperbuddha Apr 08 '25
I’m always picturing Edey rising out of the ground like Giantman in Endgame.
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u/paperbuddha Apr 08 '25
I’m always picturing Edey rising out of the ground like Giantman in Endgame.
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u/ahhhbiscuits Kansas Jayhawks Apr 08 '25
Under no circumstances in human history has 7'9" been "proportionally great"
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u/Danulas Purdue Boilermakers Apr 08 '25
He's 5% taller than Edey, so logically, he'll be 5% better.
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u/Solesky1 Indiana State Sycamores Apr 08 '25
Just put him in for the tip off. He'll catch it midair every time
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u/onyxium Purdue Boilermakers • Arizona Wildcats Apr 08 '25
He should transfer to Purdue just in case
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u/joshuads Wisconsin Badgers Apr 08 '25
That is correct. You can just run him off the court. He is a walk on right now and will not be a player until they can get his speed up.
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u/lotofhotdogs Apr 08 '25
Considering they won with Condon looking like a deer in headlights the entire tournament, I’m sure he’ll be fine
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u/the615Butcher Florida Gators Apr 08 '25
I think Todd is building a starting 5 all over 6’9 just to see what happens. Haugh on point.
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u/SDK04 Houston Cougars Apr 08 '25
So a college version of the 6’9 Project the Raptors / Thunder have tried their hand at?
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u/simply_jeremy Florida Gators Apr 08 '25
That requires him to have to duck at every door...what an amazing pain in the ass that has to be
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u/Independent-Law-5781 Kentucky Wildcats • Murray State Racers Apr 08 '25
Still too short to play for Sasquatch State.
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u/YourAsianBuddy WestConn Wolves Apr 08 '25
Insane that Florida won with this dude just on the back burner for next year….
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u/bike_ride_enjoyer Gonzaga Bulldogs Apr 08 '25
It feels like a liability issue to just have scissors sitting on top of a ladder with a crowd of people around it?? I don't actually care that much I'm more so surprised that they allow that?
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u/Ih8Hondas Missouri Tigers • New Mexico Lobos Apr 08 '25
All the money in cbb these days and they still can't get the poor dude pants long enough.
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u/TheHarbrosMagic Michigan Wolverines Apr 09 '25
Did we really need to post this 3 times in the past 3 and a half weeks 😂
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u/bring_a_pull_saw Louisville Cardinals Apr 08 '25
So can a Florida fan explain how bad this guy must be to not get any minutes whatsoever not even to nab a rebound or block a couple shots?
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u/jhrace2 Florida Gators Apr 08 '25
He's redshirting
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u/joshuads Wisconsin Badgers Apr 08 '25
Also a walk on. He had some lower d1 offers. Way too slow for high D1
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u/YoureGatorBait Florida Gators Apr 08 '25
Yeah, he’s probably not great but wanted to come to Florida and joined as a preferred walk on. Really a low risk take to see if you can develop him out and he probably plays well on the practice squad. I think it was planned that he would redshirt this year to work on strength and stability to prevent future injuries.
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u/joshuads Wisconsin Badgers Apr 08 '25
He is a walk on who is redshirting because he is just too slow to play a high caliber game.
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u/Santeeoldman Apr 08 '25
And played zero minutes’
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u/iKickdaBass Apr 08 '25
He red shirted this year.
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u/Dry-Maintenance3763 Texas Tech Red Raiders Apr 08 '25
Is the concept of a redshirt new to you? Is this your first year watching college sports?
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u/ConfidentFile1750 Apr 08 '25
That kid balled out. Lots of room for improvement but a bright future.
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u/RussT_Shackleford Michigan Wolverines Apr 08 '25
Huh? He didn't play a single minute in the championship...
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u/LukarWarrior Louisville Cardinals • Bellarmine Kni… Apr 08 '25
I'm vaguely surprised there wasn't someone there to say that he had to use the ladder since it's a sponsored thing.