Walking from his apartment to classes and then to the University of Florida’s basketball facility, Olivier Rioux poses for dozens — sometimes hundreds — of pictures a day.
Vertical shots, of course. Rioux won’t fit in the frame any other way.
At 7 feet, 9 inches (2.4 meters), Rioux is the ultimate BMOC. He’s actually the Biggest Man On Campus — any campus.
The Florida freshman, a happy-go-lucky Canadian who owns a spot in the Guinness record book as the world’s tallest teenager, also will make basketball history when he plays for the 21st-ranked Gators this season. The cheerful guy known as “Oli” will become the tallest to play college hoops, supplanting 7-foot-7 Kenny George of UNC Asheville (2006-08).
He’s 2 inches (5 centimeters) taller than former NBA giants Gheorghe Muresan and Manute Bol, and 3 inches taller than popular big men Yao Ming, Tacko Fall and Shawn Bradley.