Lessons Learned from the UNC basketball program's unnecessary loss to Stanford

The Tar Heels had a horrible, terrible, no good, very bad day against the Cardinal.

Stanford v North Carolina
Stanford v North Carolina | Grant Halverson/GettyImages
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Maxime Raynaud might be the one that got away

RJ Davis, Maxime Raynaud
Stanford v North Carolina | Grant Halverson/GettyImages

When Hubert Davis was in the transfer portal looking to replace Harrison Ingram and Armando Bacot, Stanford's Maxime Raynaud was at the top of his shopping list. Coach Davis must have said, "Sacre bleu!" when the French international decided to stay in Palo Alto instead of joining the Heels in Chapel Hill.

Raynaud did eventually make it to Chapel Hill, but it was akin to Godzilla visiting Tokyo. The senior forward had 25 points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks. His shooting splits (8/24 from the floor, 3/12 from three, 6/6 from the free throw line) weren't spectacular, but both teams shot just 43% from the field.

Imagine a universe where Raynaud is getting fed in his favorite spots in the post by Elliot Cadeau. Imagine him trailing on UNC's fast break and catching a pass at the top of the key to knock down an uncontested three. Imagine Raynaud gobbling up rebounds, allowing his guards to cheat towards their basket instead of attacking the boards.

What could have been. Il y a toujours des rêves frustrés ou brisés.

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