The Florida Gators are coming off a dominant 2024–25 season that culminated in a national championship, the first of head coach Todd Golden’s career.
Following significant roster turnover — most notably the departures of Walter Clayton Jr. and Alijah Martin — Florida entered the new season ranked No. 23 and earned a commanding 102–61 win over the St. Francis Red Flash to improve to 7–4.
The lopsided victory allowed Golden to give redshirt freshman Olivier Rioux some valuable minutes as he continues to develop at the Division I level. Rioux, a fan favorite who stands at an astonishing 7-foot-9, played just two minutes but made the most of them.
On a pick-and-roll, Rioux caught a clean pass while rolling to the basket and finished with an easy dunk, scoring the first points of his college career. In doing so, he became the tallest player in NCAA history to record a made field goal.
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When Rioux committed to Florida as a preferred walk-on, it was always understood that his development would be a long-term project, especially at one of the premier programs in college basketball.
Still, you can’t teach being 7-foot-9. As seen with former Purdue center Zach Edey—who stood at 7-foot-4, five inches shorter than Rioux—elite size can be a major advantage if a player is properly developed on both ends of the floor.
While Rioux is a much rawer prospect than Edey was as a three-star recruit—also coming out of IMG Academy—the upside is undeniable.
Golden spoke about Rioux’s historic moment after Wednesday’s win in Gainesville.
“Pretty special, man,” Golden said. “The transition, his vertical — woo. He was up there, man.”
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