You can see the Todd Golden influence on this sequence by Olivier Rioux for team Canada.

Rioux seals off the big man to create a lane for his cutting guard, which leads to better positioning for an offensive board and two points from the 7-foot-9 center. pic.twitter.com/gcsTk31sFa

— Luke Adragna (@lukeadrag) July 1, 2025

Canada fell to Germany, 104-88, in the final game of Group B in the first stage of the FIBA U19 World Cup on Tuesday, but Florida redshirt freshman Olivier Rioux had arguably his best game of the tournament.

The opposite was true on Wednesday as Canada bounced back for a Round of 16 win over Mali, 100-75, while Rioux struggled with foul trouble.

The 7-foot-9 phenom has drawn a ton of attention since joining the Florida Gators, and these are the first games fans can see him in action on the court. Rioux is still very raw and learning to manipulate his large body and long limbs without fouling too often. He’s not likely to play a ton during the 2025-26 college basketball season, outside of non-conference blowout wins, so these are valuable minutes for someone with an infinitely high ceiling — wordplay not intended.

Game 3: Canada vs Germany (L, 104-88)

Rioux scored four points on 2-of-2 shooting in the game against Germany. He played earlier than normal, seeing minutes in the first quarter. He positioned himself well on the offensive boards, tipping a missed shot back in for half his box score.

That’s Rioux’s only offensive rebound of the tournament so far, and it’s a nice sign to see. There’s some Florida, Todd Golden sequencing in there if you look closely enough. That’s the kind of film that will get him more minutes next season

Game 4: Canada vs Mali (W, 100-75)

Four personal fouls limited Rioux to just five minutes on the court Wednesday. There wasn’t much room for debate on any of the calls, making this a learning lesson for the oversized center. SEC players are going to take advantage of a big player who doesn’t know how to get out of the way. Rioux often goes forward while defending the shot instead of up, which is the only direction he needs to go at 7-foot-9.

Olivier Rioux FIBA U19 World Cup StatsDateOpponentMINPTSOREBDREBREBASTPFBLKJune 28China5:240000010June 29Slovenia11:202033010July 1Germany9:054112111July 2Mali5:280022041July 4USANext up for Oliver Rioux, Team Canada

Rioux and his fellow Canadians will face the United States in the quarterfinal round held on Friday, July 4, in Lausanne, Switzerland. Tipoff is slated for 5:15 p.m. (GMT+2) local time and 11:15 a.m. ET inside Lausanne Arena.

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