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Maxime Raynaud’s return combined with the arrival of Kyle Smith has sparked Stanford’s start in the ACC

The dissolving of the Pac 12 this offseason made plenty of waves across the world of college basketball, including former Washington State head coach Kyle Smith landing at former conference rival, Stanford. Maxime Raynaud, a 15.5 ppg scorer with 11 double-doubles for Stanford a year ago had entered the transfer portal, but Smith was able to coax him back to Palo Alto.

A rare four-year guy with four seasons at one school, Raynaud has reached a new level for Stanford this season. At 21.2 ppg and 11.6 rpg, he leads the ACC in both scoring and rebounding, ahead of Cooper Flagg, Hunter Sallis, RJ Davis, and the rest of the conference’s elite performers. Raynaud has scored either 20 or more points or grabbed 10 or more rebounds in all 19 contests, including 16 double-doubles and five games with 25 or more points.

Raynaud doesn’t get the love that many of the top scorers do, likely due to the fact he’s tucked away on the west coast while playing in the ACC. To those familiar with Stanford though, Raynaud is as talented as post players come across the country and is extremely efficient with the shots he puts up. Raynaud shoots 49.7% from the field on over 16 attempts per game and 36.4% from behind the arc on over five attempts per game.

Raynaud, combined with impressive play from transfers Jaylen Blakes (14.7 ppg, 5.3 apg) and Oziyah Sellers (13.9 ppg, 40.7% 3P), has led Stanford to wins in four of its last five games, highlighted by a game-winning basket by Blakes to take down North Carolina on the road. Off the back of the win at Chapel Hill, Stanford hosted Miami last night, blowing out the Hurricanes 88-51 behind Raynaud’s 28-point, 12-rebound performance.

Quietly now, the Cardinal are tied for fifth in the league with UNC and SMU, visiting the Mustangs on February 1. The non-conference slate wasn’t overly impressive, so it’s likely a tournament appearance for year one under Smith would be too much to ask for, but it’s hard to argue the future isn’t bright for Smith at his new school. Already a testament to his connection to players and culture, Smith brought Raynaud back, added a handful of transfers, and now is fighting punch for punch with teams in the top half of the ACC.

Other Things to Note:

• #5 Florida completes miraculous comeback to win 70-69 at South Carolina
• Manny Obaseki’s late three stuns #16 Ole Miss, gives #13 Texas A&M 63-62 road win
• Kadary Richmond’s 19 points leads #20 St. John’s past Xavier 79-71 in overtime at MSG
• Adou Thiero comes up big late to give Arkansas first SEC win in dramatic fashion against Georgia
• Maryland visits #17 Illinois for big road test in Big Ten play (9:00 ET, FS1)