By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — Whatever comes to pass for Elliot Cadeau after a season sure to be full of eye-popping passes is fine for the precocious freshman.
When the five-star Class of 2024 guard with outstanding court vision reclassified last summer to join Carolina this season, many assumed he’d play one season and then move on to the NBA. While that’s still possible, the 6–1, 180-pound Cadeau says there is no urgency for it to play out like that.
“One of the main parts of me reclassing up is to take pressure off of me,” Cadeau said during Carolina’s media day on Friday. “I feel like coming in a year early, there’s no pressure for me to just come in and come out. I’m kind of on a two-year plan. So, if I feel like I’m not ready, I’ll just stay here another year. Have another great team with Ian [Jackson] and Drake [Powell].”
If he returned for a sophomore season at UNC, he’d be able to play with members of the Tar Heels’ Class of 2024 he was originally part of, along with five-stars Powell and Jackson, as well as four-star James Brown.
Cadeau says the transition to college life a year earlier than originally planned has gone smoothly, thanks to being a student last school year at Link Academy, a boarding school in Branson, Mo.
“It was a college schedule, so it prepared me; so, I think I’m good with the time-management part of it,” Cadeau said.
Tar Heels fans have eagerly anticipated Cadeau’s arrival, with the excitement only amplified by observers who say that his passing ability will be the best by a UNC guard since Kendall Marshall. The memories of Marshall’s magical passing ability have fans excited.
“He’s a great role model, watching his games, learning from him, watching film on him is great because he’s a successful point guard to come on this program, and that’s my goal, too,” Cadeau said.
The prospect of the transition outlet passes and quick passes threaded between defenders rocketed Cadeau up the recruiting rankings during his high school career.
If you want a shoot-first point guard, Cadeau isn’t your guy. It’s not that he isn’t a good shooter, it’s that he would rather create a chance for a teammate.
“I’d definitely rather make a really good pass because I feel like if I throw a lob to a big, that’s a highlight for me,” Cadeau said. “I realize that something that sets me apart from everybody else is the fact that I can play-make. There’s a lot of scoring guards. You can find a scoring guard everywhere, but you can’t really find a playmaker in a lot of places.”
During the offseason, Cadeau trained some with former UNC point guard Cole Anthony, who is about to start his fourth season with the Orlando Magic. Although Anthony is two inches taller and probably looks to score more often, their styles are similar.
“It was great. He gave me a lot of tips because I feel like our play style is somewhat similar,” Cadeau said. “We have similar athleticism, so him just teaching me the mistakes that he made as a freshman.”
One of Anthony’s biggest points was for Cadeau to take advantage of his speed but to keep it under control.
“Me and him are really fast and we use that to our advantage, and he just helped me realize that everything’s not 100 miles per hour, and I can just slow down sometimes and make the right play,” Cadeau said.
Cadeau says that, by far, the biggest adjustment is learning how to get around screens on defense. His teams switched one through five in high school and AAU games, so he didn’t have to do that very often.
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“It’s been pretty difficult for me to lock in and play off-ball defense and learning how to get around screens, learning what to do, but I’ve adjusted,” Cadeau said.
There will likely be many minutes this season when Cadeau and 6–0 RJ Davis will be on the court and face two guards who are taller than both. Neither seemed to be worried at all about that prospect.
“I just think we’re tough,” Cadeau said. “We’re both from like the same area. He’s from New York, I’m from New Jersey. So we’re just tough guards. I feel like we can both guard players are 6–5 and taller. We’re tougher than a lot of people.”
Davis smiled while answering a question about such challenges.
“I think in terms of heart over height,” Davis said. “I’m not a big believer in, ‘he may be taller than this guy and he can’t defend’ or what not. It think it’s been proven by small guards in college and the NBA. So, I think with our grit and with our IQ on the defensive end, it will work out.”
Davis has tried to be a mentor to Cadeau and the defensive skills have been a point of emphasis.
“I wasn’t once a great defender,” Davis said. “I’m not there yet, but I definitely have improved. In terms of giving him advice on how to get over screens or when to anticipate a steal, being the right direction, just feeding him that knowledge and helping him along the way. As a freshman there’s more defensive rotations. It’s a lot different than high school.”
Armando Bacot is loving the element that Cadeau brings to the team.
“I think RJ playing with Elliot allows RJ to focus on scoring more, too, which I think is more of his strength, anyway,” Bacot. “Elliot being able to pass the ball and also being able to knock down open shots, it just opens up the floor for everybody. I think those two together, it’s going to be really good. Elliot, he’s very physical and he’s strong. So I think he can guard good guards and even bigger guards.”
Whether Cadeau’s career at Carolina lasts one season or stretches to two, it promises to be a memorable one.
UNC schedule
| Date | Month/day | Opponent/event (final ranks) |
|---|---|---|
| October | Exhibitions | |
| 9 | 7 p.m. Friday | vs. USC in Greensboro |
| 18 | 5 p.m. Sunday | vs. Indiana in Indianapolis |
| 27 | Tuesday | vs. Charlotte |
| November | Regular season | |
| 2 | Monday | vs. Western Carolina |
| 6 | Friday | vs. Wofford |
| 10 | Tuesday | vs. Wyoming |
| 13 | Friday | vs. Georgia |
| 20 | Friday | vs. Marshall |
| 23 | Monday | vs. Monmouth |
| 27 | Friday, 7 p.m. | Dick Vitale Invitational vs. West Virginia in Charlotte |
| December | ||
| 1 | Tuesday, 7:30, ESPN2 | ACC/SEC Challenge vs. No. 13 Arkansas |
| 6 | Sunday | vs. Butler |
| 12 | Saturday afternoon | at Georgetown |
| 15 | 7 p.m. Tuesday | Tobacco Road Classic vs. N.C. State in Greensboro |
| 19 | 2:30 Saturday, CBS | CBS Sports Classic vs. Kentucky in New York |
| 21 | Monday | vs. The Citadel |
| 30 | Wednesday | vs. California |
| January | ||
| 2 | Saturday | at Boston College |
| 5 | 7 p.m. Tuesday | at Louisville |
| 9 | Saturday | vs. N.C. State |
| 13 | Wednesday | at Florida State |
| 16 | Saturday | vs. Stanford |
| 19 | Tuesday | vs. No. 17 Virginia |
| 23 | Saturday | at Syracuse |
| 26 | Tuesday | vs. SMU |
| 30 | Saturday | Nashville Hoops Showdown vs. No. 5 Illinois in Nashville, Tenn. |
| February | ||
| 2 | Tuesday | at Notre Dame |
| 6 | Saturday | vs. Georgia Tech |
| 8 | Monday, 7 p.m, ESPN | vs. Louisville |
| 13 | Saturday | at No. 4 Duke |
| 20 | Saturday | at Wake Forest |
| 22 | Monday, 7 p.m, ESPN | vs. No. 24 Miami |
| 27 | Saturday | at Virginia Tech |
| March | ||
| 2 | Tuesday | at Pittsburgh |
| 6 | Saturday | vs. No. 4 Duke |
| 9–13 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament in Greensboro |
| No. | Class | Player | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Freshman | Maximo Adams (MAX-ih-mo) | F | 6–7 | 220 |
| 30 | Freshman | Malloy Smith | G | 6–5 | 180 |
| 21 | Freshman | Sayon Keita (SIGH-on KAY-tuh) | C | 7–0 | 205 |
| 5 | Freshman | Kevin Thomas | W | 6–6 | 205 |
| 35 | Sophomore | Cade Bennerman — U | C | 7–0 | 205 |
| 17 | Sophomore | Neo Avdalas — W (NEE-oh ahv-DOLL-lus) | G | 6–9 | 220 |
| 2 | Sophomore | Isaiah Denis | G | 6–4 | 185 |
| 3 | Sophomore | Matt Able — X | G | 6–5 | 200 |
| 22 | Junior | Alexandros Samodurov (Alex-ANN-drose SAH-muh-DUHR-off) | C | 6–11 | 225 |
| 1 | Senior | Terrence Brown — Y | G | 6–3 | 180 |
| 4 | Senior | Jaydon Young (JAY-din) | G | 6–4 | 200 |
| 15 | Senior | Jarin Stevenson (JARE-in) | F | 6–10 | 220 |
| 14 | Graduate | Angelo Brizzi — Z (BRIZZ-ee) | G | 6–3 | 200 |
| 54 | Graduate | Cameron Fens — V (Fenz) | C | 7–0 | 255 |
| Walk-ons | |||||
| 99 | Junior | John Holbrook — SA | F | 6–8 | 230 |
| 32 | Senior | Evan Smith | G | 6–1 | 200 |
V — South Dakota transfer; U — Northwestern transfer; W — Virginia Tech transfer; X — N.C. State transfer; Y — Utah transfer; Z — Buffalo transfer; SA — Holbrook is a designated student-athlete, so he doesn’t count against UNC’s 15-player limit.
Coach Michael Malone’s coaching staff — Associate head coach Chuck Martin; assistant coaches Bryan Tibaldi (tih-BALL-dee), Sean May, Jorge Sanz (HOR-hey sahnth), Pat Sullivan and Brandon Robinson; Director of player development Deon Thompson.
Players who entered transfer portal
| Player | Class next season | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt | Next school |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luka Bogavac | Senior | W | 6–6 | 215 | Oklahoma State |
| James Brown | Senior | C | 6–10 | 240 | Howard |
| Derek Dixon | Sophomore | G | 6–5 | 200 | Arizona |
| Kyan Evans | Senior | G | 6–2 | 175 | Minnesota |
| Zayden High | Junior | C | 6–10 | 230 | South Florida |
| Jonathan Powell | Junior | G | 6–6 | 190 | Pittsburgh |
| Ivan Matlekovic | Junior | C | 7–0 | 255 | Pacific |
UNC schedule
| Date | Month/day | Opponent/event (final ranks) |
|---|---|---|
| October | Exhibitions | |
| 9 | 7 p.m. Friday | vs. USC in Greensboro |
| 18 | 5 p.m. Sunday | vs. Indiana in Indianapolis |
| 27 | Tuesday | vs. Charlotte |
| November | Regular season | |
| 2 | Monday | vs. Western Carolina |
| 6 | Friday | vs. Wofford |
| 10 | Tuesday | vs. Wyoming |
| 13 | Friday | vs. Georgia |
| 20 | Friday | vs. Marshall |
| 23 | Monday | vs. Monmouth |
| 27 | Friday, 7 p.m. | Dick Vitale Invitational vs. West Virginia in Charlotte |
| December | ||
| 1 | Tuesday, 7:30, ESPN2 | ACC/SEC Challenge vs. No. 13 Arkansas |
| 6 | Sunday | vs. Butler |
| 12 | Saturday afternoon | at Georgetown |
| 15 | 7 p.m. Tuesday | Tobacco Road Classic vs. N.C. State in Greensboro |
| 19 | 2:30 Saturday, CBS | CBS Sports Classic vs. Kentucky in New York |
| 21 | Monday | vs. The Citadel |
| 30 | Wednesday | vs. California |
| January | ||
| 2 | Saturday | at Boston College |
| 5 | 7 p.m. Tuesday | at Louisville |
| 9 | Saturday | vs. N.C. State |
| 13 | Wednesday | at Florida State |
| 16 | Saturday | vs. Stanford |
| 19 | Tuesday | vs. No. 17 Virginia |
| 23 | Saturday | at Syracuse |
| 26 | Tuesday | vs. SMU |
| 30 | Saturday | Nashville Hoops Showdown vs. No. 5 Illinois in Nashville, Tenn. |
| February | ||
| 2 | Tuesday | at Notre Dame |
| 6 | Saturday | vs. Georgia Tech |
| 8 | Monday, 7 p.m, ESPN | vs. Louisville |
| 13 | Saturday | at No. 4 Duke |
| 20 | Saturday | at Wake Forest |
| 22 | Monday, 7 p.m, ESPN | vs. No. 24 Miami |
| 27 | Saturday | at Virginia Tech |
| March | ||
| 2 | Tuesday | at Pittsburgh |
| 6 | Saturday | vs. No. 4 Duke |
| 9–13 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament in Greensboro |
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
