The Tallest Teen on Earth: Montreal basketball prospect Olivier Rioux | W5 INVESTIGATION

foreigner welcome back he is the

tallest

teen

ager in the world Olivier Ryu from Montreal is used to towering over almost everyone when he was only five he was as tall as his kindergarten teacher Rick Westhead discovers what life is like when you're seven foot six when you're seven foot six everything looks different pants are always too short shoes are impossible to find and you're almost always taller than Windows Doors and ceilings that's life for Olivier Ryu from Montreal, he's only 17 years old and he's the

tallest

teen

ager in the world and yes, he plays

basketball

, he has played for the Quebec, Canada team and is a student athlete at IMG Academy in Florida.

I met Olivier in Montreal last summer, he turns heads wherever we go as this seven six, it's funny they think that. you don't see them well yeah you can see people like to make their edits okay as long as my son is a big

basketball

fan you're going to have to respond and be cool and nice oh are you okay with that? How long has this been going on in your life since you were 10 years old? Thanks, how long has it been since you were able to walk into a store with your mom and dad and buy normal clothes, like my clothes off the rack?

How much more could you grow? I honestly don't know, Dollar Tree told me, so it's five, so it's off by a foot and two inches, at least they said it's genetics, but yeah, we'll see how you feel about it. It's nice, but as if it were nature. and it's whatever, but sometimes it's too much when you think about having seven sixes, do you think of it as a blessing or a curse or both? Use it for almost everything, you can use it to be famous, you can use it for basketball, you can use it for the highest shelf in the kitchen or whatever, so yes, it was Olivier who wanted to see his name in the Guinness Book of World Records . your idea of ​​contacting Guinness had 11 years of engineering on it, you're dreaming about it at 11 years old. yeah, I was like 11 years old and seeing that the guy that was there was smaller than me, I'll tell you if you were 14 7 4 and then I grew up seven five and a half and now I'm seven six and a half almost seven seven almost seven seven being careers tall in the Ryu family Olivier's mother is six foot one, his brother is six foot nine and his father John Francois is six foot eight tell me your first memories of him he has always been told three months after he grew up it's like he had the twice in size growing up so fast people always thought that Olivier should act older when he was two years old they took him to be three and a half or four years old, so how come your sound doesn't speak as much and it was always like a challenge for him?

I think Olivier was constantly put on teams of older children since he started at five, he played with children who were between 9 and 10 years old easily. Olivier tried all kinds of sports. I played soccer during the summer, they didn't work. I was a goalkeeper and I just got bored and then I started playing basketball thanks to my brother who played and when I was 12 he. He was invited to play in an international tournament in Spain, so when he was 12 years old was when the trajectory of his basketball journey really started to change. Yes, I saw Olivia's competitiveness in that game.

He easily scored between 20 and 40 points in that game and a video of this tournament went viral. Yes, that video captured over a million views and comments from NBA star Steph Curry and David Robinson. What impact does that have on you? I was just a kid who was 12 years old and I became famous for that to people who I don't know your son, what is he like? Well, I'd say he's great. It's like he's just surfing and chilling with people. He is very friendly every day of his life. He has to realize that he is taller than everyone.

I want two things. Today I want you to dunk I want you to dunk hard Terry Annalou has been training Olivier since he was in elementary school stay tuned look good again let's do it again When did you meet Olivier? I met Olivier when he was 11 years old. He was six foot ten, the first thing he asked me when he walked into the gym was coach, can I catch a basketball? I told him: Hey, I'm sure you know well that when you looked at him you had the feeling that you were dealing with him. an adult, but you quickly didn't realize he was just a kid with a giant body alright, alright, alright, let's do it again collage Saint John vienne a prep school on the outskirts of Montreal coach Terry still works with Olivier every time he is home. come back come back well tell me about him on the basketball court when he was 12 his challenge is always where there is coordination, he had good footwork around the basketball, he was able to protect the room very, very well and the skills that surprised The most important thing for us is his ability to facilitate others, you know, pass the ball, tell me about him now, you know, he's 16 turning 17.

Yeah, I think the biggest step he took is physically and obviously It is confidence in the game that confidence has not achieved. Life is not easy Being far above your teammates can be lonely Playing in older teams has meant that Olivier has had to grow up quickly, even on the bus, for games he goes to the back and sits alone, where he has more space given its extreme height. Olivier sometimes moves slower than his teammates, running the court from one side to the other requires more energy, some smaller, more agile players can run circles around him, and although he can literally touch the hoop without jumping, the ball first It has to come to him if you look to the future.

What will the next few years look like for him? I think Olivier has professional potential in the NBA that we don't know, that will depend on his development. We want him to love the game and not just play basketball. Because he is a tall kid, there are only six players as tall as Olivier who have played in the NBA. Taco Fall is on the ball. Taco Fall is the most recent. He became a fan favorite in two seasons with the Boston Celtics, but now plays professionally in China. I was asking you about NBA players who were six feet tall or taller, so names like Manute Bol George Morrison Sean Bradley Do you know these players and their stories?

No, I think I know a little. I'm actually my youth ball. but not much just playing your game for now, well how surprised would you be to know that he told me that he doesn't think much about playing in the NBA and that he hasn't taken the time to look at other players that are his? height or more who have played this is no surprise and for me it is a good thing in the sense that it is focused on the process. I think Olivier is a kid who is focused on what he has to do every day and I think he is trying to create his own path, his home has Olivier on an international stage playing for team Quebec for team Canada, but an invitation to play in Florida makes the American College Scouts realize that this Montreal teenager is coming for Bill Whittington, for whom he gets my vote.

Player of the game, by the way, living life with an impressive talent. Clothes are always a problem. Shoes are a big deal and I'm only a size 17. When W5 continues, it's game night for the Chicago Bulls and Olivier Ryu, the world's tallest teenager. first time in the Windy City and first time in this Champions Stadium as you duck through this tunnel usually reserved for professionals you realize the magnitude of this sport. It is Olivier's first NBA game and he will face other Canadian Giants in basketball. Bill Wennington in which he played. in the NBA and in Canada at the 1984 Olympic Games and is now a radio announcer for the Chicago Bulls.

When do you think we'll see a transition with Javonte Greene? Javonte Green seemed excellent to me in the preseason and played very well. Wennington won three championships here. between 1996 and 1998 with some of the game's greats, the dynasty was chronicled in the ESPN documentary series The Last Dance, it was phenomenal. Michael Scotty and Dennis were just phenomenal to play with, to be a part of that is just an incredible feat. How lucky to have been a part of this Bill Wennington grew up on the West Island of Montreal. Hockey was his first love. I played hockey until I was 12 and then I couldn't get size 14 skates.

The skates didn't fit anymore so I stopped playing hockey I played water polo I swam on a swim team I played soccer I played baseball basketball Obviously being tall helped me I think height The average of an 11 year old is four foot six so I had to be at least six foot but I wasn't coordinated I didn't know the game well, but I learned that the most important thing in basketball that year is that I love the game, that love drove Weddington to earn a spot and score more than a thousand points in the four years he played. for St John's University in the early 80's, Bill gets my vote for player of the game, by the way, career high 15 rebounds for Bill Wennington, plus 16 points, you'll hear the Crowder together Olivier is 16 years old .

From your experience, some of the things you went through from the age of 16 to adulthood, what's it like trying to develop on the court? It's tough and I was lucky that my coordination wasn't hampered much by the rapid growth. It was pretty consistent with my growth. I think from 13 to 16 I grew three inches a year. I'm lucky to have always had good mentors. I mean, my coaches in Canada not only cared about basketball, but they also cared about me. As a person, they made sure I was doing the right things. When young, one can become complacent or unaware of life's true challenges and there are so many things we don't know when we are young that we think we don't know.

I know, but that's where you can fall into traps where you think you're there and you're not because you can try harder or you've had a little bit of success and you think that's good enough, a lot of people would think. about what it's like to be seven feet away from the court and they would think about things like tailors and custom beds and what it's like to drive in a normal car. Clothes are always a problem. Shoes are a big deal and I'm only a size 17. Planes are a big deal, I mean my knees just won't fit on the coach.

My limits are one hour of flight. If I have much more, I can't now. I have to sit in first class because it is very difficult to sit. One of the most important things is cars. when I call an Uber I can't just call an Uber because the Prius stops. I'm in trouble this way. I've saved a lot of money on cars because it doesn't fit into a Corvette or a Ferrari. I saved hundreds of thousands of dollars just buying F-150, so you look pretty good in the car, although you fit. I know it's hard to get in when we were in Florida one year, although when the minis came out we went in and I was able to sit in a mini and be fit and I could put my knees up and I could drive it, but it was uncomfortable, very uncomfortable, this is for me It's pretty good, I like truck beds, oh yeah, beds, oh my gosh, are you there?

I sleep in a king size bed now and my feet, just my feet, my ankles hang so much, maybe I I know, for you it's probably because you're comfortable like this. I mean, people ask me if I feel uncomfortable all the time, but for you it's even worse. um, at home I have a queen size bed, yeah, just, it's good because you can sleep a little bit diagonally. Yeah, someone once asked me why don't you buy a custom bed and okay, you know I could do that, but then you have to get custom sheets, so every time you want to get new sheets, you have to get custom sheets.

Problems that only they can identify. Olivier wasn't even born when Bill was making history on the court today, they're just two very tall, new athletes. Friends, when you look at Olivier, tell me what you see. I see a gentle giant, a guy who seems very compassionate, very loving, very nice, easy going and easy to talk to, but I see that he has a natural gift that I know will intrigue a lot of people. he's playing the right game to intrigue those people. IMG Academy, an elite high school training facility. It's like an amusement park for athletes and the sprawling campus has given some of the best their start.

Olivier is in good company and even though he is just another talented one. group of athletes, he is literally the big man on campus, we drive around seven, I go to breakfast around 7:20 and then at 7:35 I go to school. I finish around 11:20. If I want to work more, I can go until 12 and then we usually start practicing at 1 30. From there we practice 3 30 4 30 and then I'm free to leave. Two years ago, eyes already on Olivier's offers for inclusion on the list of private secondary schools, he faced a difficult decision. So you had a choice: Real Madrid wanted you to go play for their program and IMG, the sports agency wanted you to move to Florida and play for their program, so tell me about that decision.

The decision-making was long and I made it with teamcad, a psychologist. to help me and figure out what's good, what's bad, whatever and we found out that IMG was better, thatelection was in part to give Olivier the best opportunity to play college basketball in the NCAA. His coach here, Jeremy Schiller, wants to sign him. Voila, you go back for the ball and now we have an advantage not only in basketball but in life. Well, the first time I met him was right before our training camp and Ollie came in and we talked for a few minutes and he went and pitched.

A complete set of exercises just in one basket. What impressed me most was his maturity level and the fact that he loved basketball enough to participate in what would be considered his own volunteer time to work on it until now. Like his actual plan is very challenging because the sky is the limit for him, you know, we haven't even begun to scratch the surface of how good he can be. Olivier's college eligibility is approaching, yes, that's fine at IMG. Olivier receives specialized training from a coach who knows what it's like to play high from the top of the glass, here we go.

Daniel Santiago is seven foot one and has played professionally with the Phoenix Suns Milwaukee Bucks and represented Puerto Rico in two Olympic Games and five World Cups. Championships, no matter how you look at it, he's always going to play against people who are smaller than him, so he has to learn to play against people who are smaller and faster. I mean, I've had to do that in my career, but he really has to do it. being able to show that he can do that, he's really improving and taking more responsibility on himself, he's trying to push himself and this year he's really grown into the role of being more of a producer.

I'm excited to see where his ceiling goes. be and how we all are, but in reality it all depends on him and he is the one who is doing that, he is working to improve when we finished filming, Olivier was a little over eight feet tall and weighed 295 pounds, what about Have the doctors spoken to you? how much higher it can grow, they don't know, they just don't know, it's like flipping a coin. When he was younger, they didn't know and now they don't know that the most important thing is to be healthy. Have you ever worried that Olivier is a spectacle?

People look at him on the street and take pictures of him and stare at him at some point. If you see him, you can't say hello, you can say hello, how are you, big guy, or something like that, but don't do it? Be rude, don't think you're the first one of the day to ask how tall he is and be respectful, but Olivia likes him so it's okay and it's important that you like to respect that for Olivier, but I'll also respect the fact that There are always people asking you what your goal is with basketball, honestly I really don't know, there are many goals in basketball that you can achieve.

I'd say it's NCAA for sure and maybe NBA or probation or something like that. How long do you think about that, your future? not much, really not much, you don't think or dream about playing in the NBA, no, I mean, I dream about it, but it's not often, why is that? Because I know it's the future, if it's not, it's not like that. Olivier just celebrated his 17th birthday and hopes to play for Team Canada again this summer in Hungary.