Gophers could potentially face 'World's Tallest Teenager' in Nov. tournament

BleedGopher

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Per Harrison:

At an astounding 7-foot-9 (not a mistake) Florida Gators freshman Olivier Rioux towers over, well, everybody. This November, Ben Johnson and the Gophers men's basketball team could be tasked with finding a way to shutdown the Gators' freshman skyscraper.

Minnesota will be one of four teams taking part in the 2024 ESPN Events Invitational this November. The Gators will take part in the tournament as well. Wake Forest and Wichita State are the other two teams scheduled to play in the tournament on Nov. 28 and 29 in Kissimmee, Fla.



Go Gophers!!
 

247 lists him at 7'6" but he appears to be a bit of a project (only ranked #300).
 





I have been following him for awhile. Hope he plays. He is super raw but 7'6" (or taller). There are very few people who have anywhere close to his potential/upside (as there are very few 7'6" teenagers). Zach Edey just went in the 1st round of the draft (and high at that)....and Wemby just took France to the Gold Medal Game and put up a fight. When Edey was being recruited/just starting his career at Purdue...no one was saying..."Oh, this big kid just committed to Purdue and...he is going to be The Man". There is really one thing you can't teach and that is height. We should all hope he plays.
 

Just because you're tall doesn't mean you're a good player...yet. He's going to get a bit of run just because of his height, but he was the 300th rated recruit, I believe. Still, that's insane
 


I doubt he'll play much if at all. He seems to be a BIG project.
 



FWIW:

Gheorghe Muresan and Manute Bol are the tallest people to ever play in the NBA at 7-foot-7.

Tacko Fall, Yao Ming, Slavko Vranes and Shawn Bradley are just a smidge shorter at 7-foot-6. Chuck Nevitt, Pavel Podkolzin and Sim Bhullar are next in line at 7-foot-5.

At 7-foot-4, Wembanyama, Edey and Marjanovic are tied with Ralph Sampson, Mark Eaton, Rik Smits and Priest Lauderdale as the 10th-tallest players in NBA history.


and just for the heck of it.....

Robert Pershing Wadlow (February 22, 1918 – July 15, 1940), also known as the Alton Giant and the Giant of Illinois, was an American man who was the tallest person in recorded history for whom there is irrefutable evidence. He was born and raised in Alton, Illinois, a small city near St. Louis, Missouri.

Wadlow's height was 8 ft 11.1 in (2.72 m) while his weight reached 439 lb (199 kg) at his death at age 22. His great size and his continued growth in adulthood were due to hypertrophy of his pituitary gland, which results in an abnormally high level of human growth hormone (HGH).
 



Missouri had a 7-5 kid this year who played a little for a really bad Missouri team. He was not a factor at all.
 



Per Harrison:

At an astounding 7-foot-9 (not a mistake) Florida Gators freshman Olivier Rioux towers over, well, everybody. This November, Ben Johnson and the Gophers men's basketball team could be tasked with finding a way to shutdown the Gators' freshman skyscraper.

Minnesota will be one of four teams taking part in the 2024 ESPN Events Invitational this November. The Gators will take part in the tournament as well. Wake Forest and Wichita State are the other two teams scheduled to play in the tournament on Nov. 28 and 29 in Kissimmee, Fla.



Go Gophers!!
Chop block.
 





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