The North Carolina Tar Heels’ focus is on their first game in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. They face Wagner on Thursday. With their sights set on cutting down the nets in Phoenix this April, the last thing on their mind is the transfer portal.

However, the portal opened this week after conference tournaments wrapped up. And already there’s a player that should get some interest from the Tar Heels.

On Tuesday, Stanford big man Maxime Raynaud entered the transfer portal, becoming one of the top players in the portal. The big man averaged 15.5 points and 9.6 rebounds for Stanford this season, and he opted to leave after head coach Jerod Haase was fired. Raynaud has connections to UNC.

The Paris, France, native played three seasons at Stanford, and here is where the UNC connection comes in. He played under Haase, who UNC fans are familiar with. He also played two years with Harrison Ingram.

At this point, it’s just connecting dots. We have no concrete evidence UNC would be interested. But with Armando Bacot leaving and the Tar Heels probably looking to add a big man in the portal, this makes sense.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

Story originally appeared on Tarheels Wire