Olivier Rioux moved down the lane, took a rebound pass from teammate C.J. Ingram and dunked, sending the Florida bench and home crowd into a frenzy.
Ryo barely left his feet to make it happen.
The 7-foot-9 center and tallest teenager in the world made his first collegiate field goal in the 23rd-ranked Gators’ 102-61 win over St. Francis on Wednesday night.
“It’s pretty special, man,” Gators coach Todd Golden said. “Moving on, his shaft. Woo. He’s been there, man.”
It was the highlight of a forgettable match against an overpowered opponent.
Florida fans watched their team dominate every aspect of its first home game in nearly a month, then began chanting, “We want Ole,” with just over six minutes to play. Golden put the big man down in the second minute, drawing a standing ovation on the night.
Ryu served up, first a blunder on the defensive end and then a brilliant cut to the basket from the other end. The Florida players celebrated wildly, jumping around and shoving each other in wild celebrations.
“We were crazy,” said Florida guard Xavian Lee, who led the team with 18 points.
“Nice pass from CJ,” quipped teammate Alex Condon, who added 14 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots.
Ryu became the tallest person to ever play college basketball when he made his debut in a 104-64 win over North Florida in early November. Ryu, a 19-year-old freshman from Canada, attracted so much attention from the Ospreys that he didn’t even touch the ball.
He scored three plays later, making a free throw after being fouled. He also recorded his first rebound.
But this was different. It was a clear display of how tough Rio is to defend, although Golden says his stamina only allows him to play a few minutes at a time.
Ryu is two inches (five centimeters) taller than former NBA giants Georgi Mureşane and Manute Boul, and three inches taller than popular big men Yao Ming, Taku Vale and Shawn Bradley. He already owned a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records when he signed with Florida in 2024.
Golden gave Rioux the option of playing sparingly last season or participating in a redshirt season and working on his game. Ryo chose the latter. However, it was a viral video, from riding his bike around campus, to crouching under every doorway, to cutting down the nets while standing flat-footed during the NCAA Tournament in Florida.
Golden has made it clear that Ryu will not play until late in the game, due to the return of all four front-line players. But Olivier doubled down on his desire to be in Florida and welcomed the challenge of playing against Alex Condon, Thomas Hauff, Robin Chenelo and Mika Handlugten in training and behind them in matches.
But he’s always the biggest draw – literally.