‘New guys on the block’: Cal, SMU, Stanford players ready for ACC basketball experience

They know about Michael Jordan’s time at North Carolina, Coach K’s national championships at Duke and even Maryland’s integral role in the Atlantic Coast Conference before leaving after 61 years.

It’s a new world for California, SMU and Stanford as the latest programs to join the ACC, which now has 18 college basketball programs. But it’s a world familiar to the Golden Bears, Cardinal and Mustangs because of the league’s storied history.

“I think about greatness,” Stanford’s Maxime Raynaud said in October at ACC Tipoff in Charlotte. “I feel like, at least coming from France, most of the content we have from college basketball usually comes from Duke, UNC … obviously, you see greatness.”

Raynaud, a 7-foot-1 center who was named the Pac-12 Most Improved Player of the Year last season, is expected to be one of the ACC’s top newcomers. Growing up in Paris, Raynaud recalls watching YouTube videos of the league’s greatest teams and players.

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“Footage of MJ playing at UNC, those highlights … coming from France, we didn’t have as much coverage from basketball, it was a lot more soccer,” Raynaud said.

“We would watch mixtapes, highlight reels of top prospects. Those are my first memories, and hopefully I will make many more this year.”

Duke transfer Jaylen Blakes, Raynaud’s teammate, knows what it’s like to be at the top of the league.

In three seasons with the Blue Devils, Blakes experienced a Final Four run in Mike Krzyzewski’s final season, won an ACC Tournament in Jon Scheyer’s debut season and concluded his time in Durham with an Elite Eight appearance.

“Being in March Madness hasn’t been something that Stanford has done recently. It’s about bringing a culture of winning, knowing what winning looks like every single day,” Blakes said.

“I think (my teammates) definitely know how great of a league it is. … They know how great it is and how competitive it’ll be. They’re all excited for…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/guys-block-cal-smu-stanford-090019733.html

Author : The Fayetteville Observer

Publish date : 2024-11-18 09:00:00

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