Stanford men’s basketball rising junior 7-footer Maxime Raynaud had a stellar performance for France in the FIBA U20 European Championship in Greece, guiding Les Bleus (The Blues) to a gold medal finish after defeating Israel 89-79 in the championship game.
VIDEO: FIBA: Maxime Raynaud Highlights | FIBA U20 European Championship
During the course of the tournament, Raynaud averaged 14.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.1 blocks per game on 66.7% shooting from the field, 87.5% shooting from 3-point range on eight attempts, and 58.3% shooting from the foul line for a team-high 18.3 efficiency per game. Raynaud along with Ilias Karmadine was the top scorer for France, demonstrating a wide variety of skills. Raynaud was throwing it down inside, nailing pretty jump hooks, popping threes, blocking shots, and grabbing rebounds. He was doing it all, showing why Stanford was so excited about him when he first arrived on The Farm.
As a team, France truly dominated this event. They went 7-0 and won all but one game by 10+ points. Their 82-73 victory over Serbia was the closest game they played in while their most dominating victory was a 110-45 victory over Iceland. France was the best team in this event and it wasn’t even really close.
Looking ahead to his junior season, Raynaud looks to be a major piece for this Stanford team. His versatility inside and ability to score both inside and out as well as control the glass makes him such a talent. His shot blocking needs work, so to see him average over one block per game in this tournament is really encouraging. It’ll be fun to see what Raynaud brings to The Farm this season and also hear from him what his experience was like in Greece.
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