By R.L. Bynum

Elliot Cadeau still appears in a Marriot Bonvoy ad in UNC gear, but he won’t be wearing a Carolina uniform anymore.

Cadeau, who joined the UNC program a year early and played two seasons, has entered the transfer portal, according to multiple reports, a move that had long been rumored. This leaves UNC without a point guard on its current roster, making it crucial that the Tar Heels get a top point guard in the portal in addition to the need for a top center.

Jalen Washington is also entering the portal, according to multiple reports.

Some thought that Cadeau would be a one-and-done player, so much so that two versions of that commercial were shot: the one with the UNC gear that you continue to see this March and another with neutral-colored warmups that you would have seen this month had he left for the NBA after one season.

Cadeau, who was supposed to meet Tuesday with Coach Hubert Davis, wouldn’t say what his future was when asked in the dressing room after UNC’s season-ending loss to Ole Miss. There are rumors that St. John’s has interest and that Cadeau, who grew up in nearby West Orange, N.J., seeks big money.

Cadeau started all 37 games of his sophomore season at UNC, averaging 9.4 points, 6.2 assists and 3.1 turnovers per game. All were higher numbers than during his freshman year when he averaged 7.3 points, 4.1 assists and 1.8 turnovers. The higher turnover numbers this season, as well as persistent foul trouble (2.8 fouls per game) made for some rough outings. He drew at least three fouls in 21 games, at least four in 13 games and fouled out three times.

Cadeau’s shooting from the perimeter improved greatly, from scoring only 10 3-pointers while shooting 18.9% as a freshman to making 29 and making 33.7% of his attempts last season.

Cadeau scored in double figures in the first seven games this season but did it only 11 times in the last 22. His best two games of the season were early: 18 points, 8 assists and 4 steals in the 107–55 home win on Nov. 15 over American and 17 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks in the 90–76 win on Nov. 4 over Elon.

He dished out double-digit assists six times, topped by 13 in the 67–66 Jan. 21 loss at Wake Forest.

He had big games, including converting a huge four-point play and making a big defensive stop in UNC’s 74–73 win on Jan. 4 at Notre Dame and also successfully defending a last-second shot in the 76–74 victory on Dec. 21 against UCLA in New York. He missed a potential game-tying last-second 3-point attempt in the 92–89 loss Nov. 8 at Kansas and a late layup attempt that could have given UNC a win in the 94–91 overtime loss to Michigan State on Nov. 27 at the Maui Invitational.

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	Alex Samodurov (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.

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Former players at other schools

Player	Class	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

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UNC schedule

Date	Month/day	Opponent/event (final ranks)
	October	Exhibitions
9	7 p.m. Friday, ACCN	vs. USC in Greensboro
18	5 p.m. Sunday	vs. Indiana in Indianapolis
27	7:30 Tuesday, ACCN Extra	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