Freshman point guard Elliot Cadeau arrived on North Carolina’s campus with a lot of expectations. After reclassifying from 2024 to 2023, Cadeau was a five-star recruit for Hubert Davis who would come in and make an impact right away.
And the Atlantic Coast Conference preseason Rookie of the Year is doing just that.
In Wednesday’s game against Tennessee, Cadeau didn’t hit a shot from the field, going 0-of-5 from the field with just five made three throws. But he found a way to impact the game in a throwback fashion.
Cadeau got the start and played 31 minutes, dishing out 10 assists and grabbing 5 rebounds while not turning the ball over once. Now, that’s impressive.
With Cadeau leading the offense, it felt like Carolina Basketball. The offense was flowing for the most part, getting up and down the court with a point guard to also facilitate in the half-court game. It felt normal. It felt like something we haven’t seen from this team a while, at least in the Hubert Davis era.
Following the game, Davis praised Cadeau’s game.
“Elliot has a gift and a talent to not only distribute and pass the ball but also distribute and pass the ball to a player where he can actually do something with it,” Davis said. “He’s just instinctively really special in that area.”
.@ElliotCadeau is DEALING ♠️♥️♣️@UNC_Basketball | @espn
— ACC Men's Basketball (@accmbb) November 30, 2023
Cadeau put together this performance with a few really damn good UNC guards in attendance including coach Marcus Paige as well as Ed Cota.
If Cadeau can continue to play like this and get even better, North Carolina will be a tough team to beat this season.
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