UNC's Elliot Cadeau announces transfer to Michigan: Here's what he brings to Wolverines

New York Times

31-03-2025

North Carolina point guard Elliot Cadeau, one of the top recruits in the Class of 2023, is transferring to Michigan.
Cadeau announced the decision Monday on social media. He was No. 18 on The Athletic's ranking of the best players in the transfer portal after a sophomore season in which he averaged 9.4 points and 6.2 assists for the Tar Heels.
UNC transfer Elliot Cadeau, the No. 11 player in the class of 2023, announces he's headed to Michigan. Cadeau averaged 9.4 points and 6.2 assists for the Tar Heels and should allow Tre Donaldson to play more off the ball. pic.twitter.com/P5T35nyAAD
— Austin Meek (@byAustinMeek) March 31, 2025
Cadeau was a five-star prospect and the No. 11 player in the 247Sports composite rankings coming out of Link Academy in Branson, Mo. He's originally from West Orange, N.J., and has competed internationally for Sweden's national team. He had the top assist rate in the ACC this season, according to KenPom, but he also averaged 3.1 turnovers per game and shot 33.7 percent from 3-point range for a North Carolina team that underperformed expectations.
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Michigan is in the process of reloading its roster after advancing to the Sweet 16 in Dusty May's first season. The Wolverines will have changes in the frontcourt with Vlad Goldin out of eligibility and Danny Wolf projected as a potential first-round pick in the NBA Draft. The backcourt could see changes, too, after the Wolverines ranked last in the Big Ten in turnover rate and struggled to get consistent production from their guards.
Adding Cadeau gives Michigan another ballhandler who can play alongside Tre Donaldson, who started all 37 games as Michigan's point guard this season. The Wolverines are also adding five-star freshman Trey McKenney, a 6-foot-4 combo guard from Flint, Mich., and the No. 17 player in the composite rankings. — Austin Meek
Cadeau is a complicated evaluation, largely because he was the epitome of a boom-or-bust player in two seasons at North Carolina.
On one hand, he's obviously a naturally gifted passer, the sort of floor general who sees angles on the court that most players cannot. (To that point: His UNC teammates even said there was an adjustment period to playing with him at first — namely, learning to always be 'shot-ready,' since Cadeau sometimes saw passes they couldn't envision.)
Cadeau's 6.2 assists per game last season were the seventh-most among high-major players, and his assist rate was top-15 nationally, per KenPom. He even had six games with double-digit assists this season. The 6-foot-1 guard also upped his scoring averages from his freshman season (from 7.3 to 9.4 points per game) and his 3-point percentage (18.9 percent to 33.7 percent), the latter of which was critical. Plus, without Cadeau, UNC wouldn't have made the NCAA Tournament this season; his four-point play with less than five seconds left at Notre Dame saved the Tar Heels from the sort of résumé-sinking loss it could not have afforded.
On the other hand, Cadeau's shortcomings were a large reason for UNC's inconsistencies this season. While he's a gifted passer, his decision-making — largely, his proclivity to take home-run chances at inopportune times, instead of solid singles — contributed to a serious turnover problem; he averaged 3.1 giveaways this season and only had six games all season with one or fewer turnovers. Cadeau also struggled as a defender because of his size and the physical limitations that came with it.
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While he improved technically as a defender, there's only so much you can do at 6-foot-1 when a taller opponent shoots or drives over you. And while Cadeau saw his counting stats improve, especially from 3-point range, he was by no means consistent from deep. UNC's 2024 Sweet 16 loss to Alabama, at least to some extent, was because the Crimson Tide could 'dork' Cadeau (sag off him in the paint) and stop the Tar Heels' drives and interior threats. Teams did that less this season, but he still only had seven games with multiple made 3s … compared to 17 with none. UNC had 1.9 fewer points per 100 possessions with Cadeau on the court compared to when he sat.
Per Synergy, the former five-star ranked below the 60th percentile nationally in every type of offensive action except for isolation scenarios.
All of which is to say, Cadeau can be an effective college player — but he needs the right pieces around him. He's almost entirely an on-ball player, and May will need to surround him with shooters and interior scorers to maximize his passing ability. Even then, it's hard to envision Cadeu entirely shaking his turnover issue with the way he plays. May's job is to make sure Cadeau's connectivity outweighs that and any defensive issues he presents.