GAINESVILLE — For now, 7-foot-9 freshman Olivier Rioux is a fascination for the Gators.
One day, Florida coach Todd Golden hopes Rioux becomes an X-factor — a 3XL one.
After all, there is no basketball player on Earth akin to the towering Canadian and Guinness World Record holder for tallest teenager.Since arriving for summer workouts, Rioux, a preferred walk-on, has pushed to develop a skill set to accompany his stature.
It’s a slow process, but the sky is the limit.
“When we made the decision to bring Oli,” Golden told the Orlando Sentinel, “it was a long-term investment that was relatively low risk and very high return depending on how it went.”
Dating to his time at San Francisco, Golden has been on the lookout for international talent.Rioux was hard to miss three hours down the road at IMG Academy in Bradenton.
While his height is unprecedented, the 18-year-old can fill out a uniform at 290 pounds. During a seemingly continuous growth spurt, Rioux maintained a high level of coordination.
At a recent workout, he handled the basketball with both hands. He even hit a 3-pointer during a drill, though he also air balled one a few minutes earlier. A slam-dunk is child’s play for a player with a standing reach of 10 feet — the height of the rim.
Rioux’s work ethic is there, too.
“He’s a great kid, really wants be good, works really hard,” Golden said. “When you evaluate him, you realize he moves a lot better than you would think. He has better hands. You can see the potential that he has.”
The 38-year-old coach also is quick to add, “It’s not going to happen overnight.”
Rioux grew up in the suburbs of Montreal in a family where height did not initially stand out. His father is 6-8, mother 6-2 and brother Emile 6-9.
Jean-Francois Rioux, his dad, said Oli was a normal infant who suddenly began to grow by leaps and bounds.
“From birth, he was like a regular child,” Jean-Francois said. “After that, it was just exponential. Olivier didn’t have a growth spurt, he had a growth.
“Exponential, all of the time.”
Rioux experienced his share of stares and awkward moments, but maintained a sense of self by growing up in a tall family.
“It’s nature,” he said. “You can’t control anything.”
Rioux began playing organized basketball around 8, but became a phenomenon with a video of him dunking at 12 — on an 8-foot rim — when he stood 6-11. At the time, he also played for the Canadian national youth team and Real Madrid, which helped produce NBA star Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks.
When the time arrived to pick his path in the game, Rioux chose IMG Academy because of the state-of-the-art facilities, educational opportunities and day-to-day environment.
“When you go play for one of those clubs [Real Madrid], you tend to lose your childhood,” IMG president of basketball Brian Nash said. “You get thrown into a pro environment, and I don’t think his family necessarily thought he was ready for that.”
Rioux’s primary obstacle was the language barrier since he grew up speaking French.At times, basketball can feel like a second language.
Rioux’s offensive game has improved. It helps to be difficult to guard at the basket.
“You get stuck, and you can just throw it up to him and he’s there,” IMG guard Gerard O’Keefe said.
National team coach Sean McAloon said Rioux’s defense is a work in progress.
“It’s because most people have always told him to stand under the basket,” McAloon said, “which makes sense … until you get to our level, where you’ve got guys who can put it on your face.”
These days in Gainesville, Rioux is no face in the crowd.
The tallest player in Division I is even a looming presence with Gators 7-1 center Micah Handlogten, who will sit out next season after suffering a compound fracture of his left leg in March.
“He makes Micah look like a point guard,” Golden joked.
Golden is taking things slowly with Rioux. He will play in some pickup games at practice, but primarily focus on improving his footwork, conditioning, mobility and ball skills.
“It’s probably not going to be anything too crazy until you know 12 to 24 months down the road, which is OK,” Golden said.
If Rioux can stay the course and bide his time, he could evolve from a curiosity into a player to contend with.
“Patience, that’s the No. 1 key,” Golden said, “understanding that you’re going to be working your tail off for four months without probably ever seeing any sort of public return on investment. It’s going to take a while.
“If he can maintain that patience and keep his mental toughness at a high level, I think he’ll make it — I really do.”
Orlando Sentinel correspondent Carson Cashion contributed.Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com
