College basketball’s tallest player has monster UC Irvine debut game

The tallest player in college basketball history just started off the season with a statement.

Olivier Rioux, a 7’9 center, had an impressive debut with UC Irvine on Tuesday night with 13 points and 12 rebounds in 18 minutes — his first career double-double. The junior used his massive height advantage masterfully, effortlessly grabbing boards and powering his way over his opponents on his way to the rim like a grown man playing against toddlers on a Fisher-Price hoop as he helped lead the Anteaters to a 92-66 season-opening win over Chapman.

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Sophomore guard Luke Isaak added 16 points in his collegiate debut.

Olivier Rioux college basketball history

Rioux made headlines for his size as a member of the Florida Gators and went viral when he rose up for a monster putback over Prairie View A&M in their first-round March Madness game a season ago, but he saw the floor sparingly and scored just seven total points in 17 minutes in 2025-26, numbers he’s already eclipsed in just one game with the Anteaters. He was also part of Florida’s 2025 national championship team but redshirted that season.

The Quebec, Canada, native entered the transfer portal after the Gators were eliminated by the Iowa Hawkeyes in the second round of the tournament.

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College basketball is here! See who the top 10 players are heading into 2026-27 season

Duke center Patrick Ngongba II (21) and Kansas guard Tyran Stokes (4) are among the top 10 players in college basketball for the 2026-27 season according to USA TODAY Sports’ Jordan Mendoza and Craig Meyer. Click here to see the full top 100 list. (Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal)

1 / 11

College basketball is here! See who the top 10 players are heading into 2026-27 season

Duke center Patrick Ngongba II (21) and Kansas guard Tyran Stokes (4) are among the top 10 players in college basketball for the 2026-27 season according to USA TODAY Sports’ Jordan Mendoza and Craig Meyer. Click here to see the full top 100 list. (Evert Nelson/The…


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Publish date : 2026-11-05 00:35:00

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