Rueben Chinyelu cherishes opportunity to say ‘thank you,’ celebrate Olivier Rioux minutes

TAMPA, Florida – Florida’s First Round game in the NCAA Tournament did not turn out competitive. Despite some early 3-point makes from 16-seed Prairie View, the Gators quickly created separation on their way to a 114-55 win.

With the game well out of reach entering the second half, it was clear during the warmup period that multiple players who do not often see the floor were expecting an opportunity late. By the midway point of the second half, fans inside Benchmark International Arena were ready to see the bench emptied.

Early ‘We want Ollie’ chants started to come from the stands. By the under-eight timeout, the full arena sang it in unison. On the end of the bench, 7-foot-9 redshirt freshman Olivier Rioux cracked a smile as AJ Brown danced to the crowd’s plea.

When the clock reached five minutes to go, the chant gave way to a new set of chants. One group of fans begged Todd Golden to ‘give the people what they want,’ while another asked a series of questions starting with ‘who do we want?’ and ‘when do we want him?’

Each deadball presented an opportunity for more chants. By the under-four timeout, starting center Rueben Chinyelu raised his hands and started the chant himself. His teammates laughed as the crowd joined in, before Alex Condon dragged his frontcourt mate back to his seat.

For Rueben Chinyelu, the fun moment with the fans is really a thank you to Rioux and others.

“Anytime we’re playing and set up an opportunity to get our guys in, we do that,” Chinyelu said after the win. “Because they grind. You don’t see behind the scenes. They’re getting ready, they’re getting us ready. They play with us to try make sure when we go out there that we’re able to deliver.

“So I think that’s the gift, the time that we give them, to pay them back as a thank you for what you guys are doing. They get us better and then we go out there and perform. Doing that is like saying ‘without you guys, we couldn’t be here’ because it’s all rubbing off on each other.”

Olivier Rioux has appeared in 11 games this season, averaging just 1.4 minutes per contest. But while he has not registered much time on the floor in front of fans, he puts in the work each day alongside Chinyelu and the Florida frontcourt.

That work ethic has been noted, and has everyone on the sideline rooting for him in those brief flashes this season.

“It’s just a great time being with this guy,” said Chinyelu. “From summer time, grinding with this guy and playing together – trying to get each other better because iron sharpens iron. Just trying to do whatever to get him to play the game because we all work so hard for that. So whatever time – whether it’s minutes or seconds – that he gets, he cherishes it so much.

“I do whatever I can to make sure that everybody gets to feel that moment being on the court playing with each other. So, just me seeing him be able to step up there, going in there to dunk the ball, make points, it’s truly – I think you could see that everybody enjoyed it. “