Prairie View A&M player goes viral for reaction to 7-9 Florida center Olivier Rioux
By Rolando Rosa
Published:
Florida’s Olivier Rioux is so gigantic that he even towers over above-average height college basketball players. In the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the 7-foot-9, 305-pound center had a memorable exchange with Prairie View A&M’s Hassane Diallo, a 6-foot-8 forward.
During Florida‘s 114-55 victory, Diallo was taken aback by the sheer massiveness of Rioux as he looked up at him. After grilling Rioux with a few personal questions, Diallo had the response that many likely have in their first interaction.
“You big boy!” Diallo said.
To make a 6-foot-8 player look that minuscule side by side is jarring. Rioux scored two points along with two rebounds and an assist in his two minutes of action.
Rioux has seen modest minutes this season. He’s averaging 0.6 points and 0.5 rebounds in 1.5 minutes per game. Yet, with his frame the potential is still tantalizing if he continues to put in the work behind the scenes.
Next up for No. 1 seed Florida in its quest to defend its national title is a Round of 32 matchup vs. No. 9 seed Iowa on Sunday. The Gators are aiming for their second set of back-to-back national titles, with the first coming in 2006-07.
Predict the Florida-Iowa game now at Kalshi!
