The tallest basketball player in NCAA history has found his new team. After two seasons at Florida, Olivier Rioux is transferring to UC Irvine, he announced Thursday.
The seven-foot-nine center made the news official on Instagram on Thursday.
The 20-year-old Rioux announced in late March that he was leaving Florida after two seasons. Rioux redshirted with the Gators as a freshman, and was used sparingly at Florida during his sophomore season.
Rioux appeared in just 11 games with Florida last year. He averaged 0.6 points in just 1.5 minutes per game.
Rioux did set a record in November, becoming the tallest player in college basketball history to see action during a game. That came in a contest vs. North Florida. Rioux played two minutes, but did not record any stats in the contest.
He was mostly used in mop-up duty the rest of the way, appearing for a minute or two at a time during blowouts. Rioux’s best performance last season came during a win over Prairie View A&M. He scored two points, grabbed two rebounds and added an assist in two minutes of play.
Despite his lack of usage with Florida, Rioux does have a history of strong amateur play, seeing time with Canada’s FIBA teams and winning two bronze medals.
UC Irvine went 23-12 last season, earning a spot in the NIT. The team lost its first game in the tournament, falling to UNLV.
