The 18-year-old Montreal native recently graduated from high school and has committed to Florida. The school lists his height at a mind-blowing 7-foot-9. That would make him the tallest college basketball player in history.
Rioux measuring at 7-9 is the result of a bit of a growth spurt. When Ballislife.com filmed him in November 2023, he was listed at 7-foot-6.
Imagine being in High School, and having to defend a 7’6” player. pic.twitter.com/Y4jsbq2xGD
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) November 18, 2023
A three-inch gain over seven months is massive, especially for a guy who was already in the Guinness Book of World Records just two years ago for being the world’s tallest teenager. He was 16 then, and already 7-foot-5. He told the Guinness Book of World Records website that his height is likely the result of having two very tall parents.
Unsurprisingly, Rioux has been tall pretty much since he’s been able to stand upright. According to his Florida profile, he was 6-foot-1 at just 8 years old, and was 6-foot-11 by the time he was in sixth grade, roughly four years later. He’d shot past the 7-foot mark by the start of seventh grade.
According to GatorsWire, Rioux is considered a “developmental project” so not much is expected of him as a freshman. Then again, no one expected a 7-foot-5 16-year-old to grow four inches in two years, so anything is possible.
