RALEIGH - With North Carolina staring down an 8-7 start, including a potential 1-2 record in ACC play, sophomore guard Elliot Cadeau resurrected the Tar Heels’ hopes.
A 4-point play and defensive stand by Cadeau against Notre Dame inside Purcell Pavilion on January 4 returned UNC to the win column and, more importantly, brought forth confidence.
“It was huge for his confidence moving forward, especially,” junior big man Jalen Washington that afternoon in South bend, IN. “He’s a great player and for him to be able to step up and make the big plays is good for our team.”
In an 82-67 win over SMU just three days later, Cadeau scored the first 5 points of the game, draining a 3-point attempt and recording a steal en route to a breakaway layup.
And, as UNC entered the Lenovo Center in Raleigh for a matchup with NC State on Saturday, his confidence was still present and on full display.
The 6-foot-1 guard handed out 11 assists in the 63-61 win, becoming the first Tar Heel since Theo Pinson during the 2017-2018 campaign to have multiple games with at least 10 assists in the same season.
He assisted on seven of North Carolina’s first 15 baskets and outperformed the Wolfpack as a team, as NC State finished with just seven assists.
The most important dime came when UNC needed it most, as Cadeau turned a broken down play into a wide open game-winning dunk for Washington with 24 seconds remaining.
“Elliot, he has elite vision so I mean he can see things that normal players can’t see. He can get the ball to them as well,” said head coach Hubert Davis. “To be able to find him where Washington had to take only one step and dunk it, that’s exactly what we wanted.”
Cadeau ranks 14th in the country and second in the ACC with 103 assists on the season and is the first UNC player with three games of 10 or more assists in a career since Kendall Marshall from 2010-2012.
Despite also averaging 10.1 points per game and recording career-highs in field goal percentage and 3-point percentage, Cadeau’s priority is finding his teammates.
“That’s kind of what I pride myself on as a basketball player [and] what I have my whole life,” said Cadeau. “I just love seeing other people make shots and I love getting assists so when both happen I get really hyped.”
Lost in the midst of Washington’s late-game heroics, specifically his game-sealing block, was the defense of Cadeau that made the play possible.
With Jayden Taylor going downhill in an effort to get to the basket, Cadeau redirected the senior guard, providing Washington with the time to get in position and reject the potential game-tying shot attempt.
“I saw Elliot kind of square him off a little bit and I knew Taylor wasn’t going to be able to get all the way to the rim,” said Washington.
Cadeau’s defensive efforts were reminiscent of the final plays inside Madison Square Garden against UCLA and in South Bend versus the Fighting Irish.
For the second time in the last three games, Cadeau has had a direct hand in the final result for the Tar Heels.
The missed game-tying three inside Allen Fieldhouse against Kansas and the blown layup down one point to Michigan State in Hawaii have turned into teaching moments for the sophomore.
And as the recent close games have tested Cadeau, he’s aced them.
“I thought he played really well today,” said Davis. “He ran our offense, he took care of the basketball, and I was really proud of him tonight.”
The Tar Heels now sit at 11-6 on the season with a 4-1 record in ACC play, and its thanks in part to the play of its point guard.
A date with California awaits UNC on Wednesday, as the Golden Bears allow 75.5 points per game, good for 15th in the ACC, and allow opponents to shoot 47.1 percent from the floor, which is second-to-last in the league.
Cadeau will look to continue his playmaking ways and, more importantly, carry over his confidence.
