An NCAA record is set to be broken one second into a game.
It’s not often players can break a mark before they get their hands on the ball, but 7-ft 9in giant Olivier Rioux will do just that.
Rioux is set to surpass 7ft 7in Paul Sturgess as being the tallest player in American collegiate basketball history.
The Canadian plays for the Florida men’s basketball program and is listed at 7-foot-9 on their website.
This height extends his own Guinness World Record as the tallest teenager in the world.
He was immediately redshirted after signing, meaning he cannot play this season and will not use up a year of eligibility as he practices with the team.
Sturgess, whose record is set to be broken by Rioux if he takes the court in 2025, spent his time in college playing for Florida Tech and Mountain State between 2007-2011.
Despite his remarkable height, Sturgess did not go on to play in the NBA but he did feature in the developmental G League.
Sturgess later enjoyed a career playing for the Harlem Globetrotters.
The 37-year-old is the tallest man in history to play for the team at a height of 7ft 7.25in and was the tallest basketball player in the world at the time.
Sturgess was 14 when he began playing basketball at school. When he was 16, he was around 7ft tall.
“I was a lot taller than the other kids and I was encouraged to try basketball. I loved it straight away and had the height advantage,” Sturgess said in an interview with local newspaper Leicester Mercury.
“I get people looking at me all the time. It took a while to get used to, but now it doesn’t bother me at all because people know who I am.”
Meanwhile Rioux has also expressed how people have the same fascination at his height
“You get asked questions every day,” Rioux told the Associated Press.
“You don’t have a single three seconds to yourself when you’re outside, which I was fine with because my brother and my dad are tall.
“And, as a family, we used to go out. That’s just how it was, and you can’t change that because people are curious.”
Despite his height, Rioux hasn’t cemented himself as a basketball star just yet, but his head coach Todd Golden is confident he will shine soon.
“The great thing in our minds is we think he has potential to play at some point,” Golden said.
“He’s more than just a 7-9 guy. He’s had some really good moments in practice, super coachable and I’m excited for him to get to this point.”
