Gators land commitment from 7-foot-7-inch center out of IMG Academy
Florida basketball’s latest commitment comes from a player that makes Colin Castleton look tiny.
The Gators landed 7-foot-6-inch Canadian center Olivier Rioux on Wednesday, the first day of the early signing period. Rioux plays high school ball at IMG Academy in Florida and plans to reclassify so he can join the team next season, according to Swamp247.
He’ll follow in the footsteps of Purdue 7-foot-4-inch center Zach Edey, who also attended IMG before joining a Power Five program. Out of high school, Edey was a three-star recruit, ranked 75th among centers in his class. He won the National Player of the Year Award in 2023 and is back with the Boilermakers for another year.
If Rioux can become half the player Edey is, he’ll be a massive feather in the cap of Todd Golden (and Florida’s recruiting staff).
With his height, Rioux should excel at blocking shots. It’s getting him to move up and down the court effectively at the college pace that will be tricky. Still, they say you can’t teach size, and Rioux literally holds the world record for the largest teenager.
Rioux is a three-star talent ranked No. 147 overall in the country, according to On3. The other three main recruiting services have him listed as unranked.
He joins four-star guard Isaiah Brown in Florida’s 2024 recruiting class.
Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
