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 this transition.”
Duke basketball teams, players among top memories for ACC’s newcomers
Stanford transfer Andrej Stojaković went roughly 40 miles north to join the Cal Golden Bears for his sophomore season. Now, both teams are in the ACC.
The son of former NBA sharpshooter Peja Stojaković, Andrej knows his basketball history.
“I think that the ACC is the best basketball conference in the country. The teams that are in the conference, the amount of competition, we’re really looking forward to it,” Stojaković said.
“I remember, like my earliest memories, watching Zion (Williamson) and RJ Barrett in that Duke run (in 2019 at Louisville). That was like my first time watching an ACC game — that game against Louisville — just remembering one day, hopefully, being a part of something like that. I think we have a really good chance to show that we can compete against the best in the ACC.”
Stojaković said it will be weird to include Cal standouts Jaylen Brown and Jason Kidd as “ACC legends,” but rattled off a lengthy list of traditional ACC stars, mentioning Duke’s Chrisitian Laettner, Grant Hill and Jay Williams.
“We’re looking forward to getting to those environments, with the jerseys hanging up,” Stojaković said.
Cal’s Mady Sissoko, who played several ACC teams when he was at Michigan State, described the ACC as a “special conference.”
But there was a theme among the six players representing Cal, SMU and Stanford: Duke is the program that caught their attention year in and year out.
“The time with RJ, Zion and Cam (Reddish) … there were a lot of good teams that year in the ACC,” Sissoko said. “I actually remember the Duke games like they were yesterday.”
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SMU’s Chuck Harris referred to former Duke guard Austin Rivers, “baggy shorts” in the 2000s and the Cameron Crazies as some of his top ACC memories.
Wake Forest transfer Kevin “Boopie” Miller, another Mustang, said his new teammates “bring up the arenas and the ones that they grew up dreaming about playing in,” highlighting Cameron Indoor Stadium.
“They should be expecting a great experience in a great league,” Miller said.
Cal, Stanford, SMU ‘bring more eyes’ to ACC
It’ll be a taxing coast-to-coast travel schedule for Cal, SMU and Stanford. But the leaders of those teams are excited for the experiences that come with that grind.
“It’s nationwide now. Bringing more eyes to the ACC, I think that’s a big help,” Miller said. “. … Bringing these three teams in brings a lot more eyes, scouts and people. People want to go to the NBA, so it’s definitely going to help.”
Cal’s schedule includes trips to Duke, N.C. State, UNC and Clemson. Stanford also gets to play in Chapel Hill and Durham, but SMU gets to host the Blue Devils on Jan. 4 before a game at UNC on Jan. 7.
“I feel like it kind of brings more of an NBA feel to college, as far as travel schedule,” Harris said. “The part of being like a professional, that part is definitely what comes with this expansion.”
As a kid who grew up in the nation’s capital hoping to maybe one day play in the ACC, Harris can’t wait to finally check that box this season.
“I’ve been watching it since I was a kid. It’s the basketball conference,” Harris said. “The history of it, the excitement of being the new guys on the block, it’s pretty exciting.”
Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached atrbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter.
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