Florida coach Todd Golden had people yelling at him at half-time Thursday night to get 236-centimetre centre Olivier Rioux in the game.

Golden relented with 2:09 to play – and made history in the process – after chants of "We Want Ollie" swept through the O'Connell Center.

Rioux became the tallest person to ever play college basketball when he made his debut in a 104-64 victory over North Florida.

The 19-year-old redshirt freshman from Canada – and the world's tallest teenager – drew so much attention from the Ospreys that he did not even touch the ball. Loading Twitter content

"It felt great," Rioux said.

"The support from everybody was amazing, even on the bench and even the fans. I think everybody supported me. I'm very grateful."

When asked about making history, Rioux quipped

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