TAMPA — The only drama in No. 1 seed Florida’s dominant 114–55 opening-round win over 16-seed Prairie View A&M was when the Gators would finally give 7' 9" Olivier Rioux a chance to make his NCAA men’s tournament debut.
Rioux, who was redshirting last season during Florida’s run to the national championship, is the tallest player in college basketball history. He wears size 20 shoes and quite literally towers over his teammates, even the Gators’ four players who are 6' 10" or taller. And while he’s still very much a developmental project without much of a place in Florida’s rotation, he often checks into games in the final minutes … much to the delight of fans everywhere.
