CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina freshman point guard Elliot Cadeau has been in more attack mode of late, part of which is a directive from the coaches, and he also says it's him attaining greater confidence.
That is among many positive signs for the streaking Tar Heels, who have won nine consecutive games, are at 16-3 overall, 8-0 in the ACC, and ranked No. 3 in the nation.
In looking at Cadeau's recent shot breakdown, 75 percent of his field goal attempts over the last five games have been layups, almost all have been taking his man off the dribble in halfcourt situations.
-All seven of his field goals against Wake Forest on Monday night were layups, as were three of his five misses. The other two are termed in State Broadcast as “jumpers,” but are usually more like floaters in the lane or mid-range jumpers.
-In the win at Boston College, each of the 6-foot Cadeau’s buckets were layups. He was 0-for-4 on floaters and mid-range jumpers in Chestnut Hill.
-His two baskets against Louisville were a dunk and layup, and the two misses were a layup and 3-point attempt.
-In a home rout of Syracuse, Cadeau scored on a pair of layups and a floater, and his misses were two errant threes, a mid-range jumper, and a layup.
*Since the 17:56 mark remaining in the Syracuse game, all of Cadeau’s field goals have been layups along with one dunk.
-In a victory at NC State, all of his conversions from the floor were layups, and three of the misses were as well, and one was a mid-range jumper.
“He's learning how to pick his spots in terms of, you know, on ball screens,” UNC Coach Hubert Davis said following the win over Wake. “A lot of times, these teams are trying to go under because of his ability to be able to get to the rim and score and to be able to distribute.
“And just his angles and change of pace is really allowing him to get to the basket, and it's really opening things up for him on the offensive end. And that's good news for us.”
Last 5 Games: So, in the last five games, 17 of Cadeau’s 19 field goals have been layups, one was a dunk, and the other was a short jumper.
Of his 38 field goal attempts, 19 were misses, of which eight were layups, eight were mid-range jumpers, and three were 3-point attempts.
Now, looking at UNC’s first 14 games, 57.6 percent of Cadeau’s field goals were layups, 30.3 percent were floaters/mid-range jumpers, and 12.1 percent were 3-pointers. That breakdown:
Cadeau made 33 shots from the field, of which 19 were layups, 10 were mid-range jumpers/floaters, and four were 3-pointers.
So, just looking at those numbers, it’s easy to recognize he had been more much aggressive attacking the basket over the last five games.
“Me and the coaches have been working on me being more aggressive, especially coming off ball screens,” Cadeau said Monday night. “Because they feel like nobody can stay in front of me. So, I’ve just been really aggressive off the ball screens and it’s opened up everything for me.
On the season, Cadeau has started 14 of the team’s 19 games averaging 23.2 minutes per contest. His other averages: 7.3 points; 1.7 rebounds; 3.5 assists; 1.5 turnovers; is shooting 46.8 percent (52-for-111) from the field, including 21.1 percent (4-for-19) from 3-point range, and 57.4 percent (31-for-54) from the free throw line.
