One of the more important developments within North Carolina’s basketball program this offseason is how point guard Elliot Cadeau improves.
Cadeau had a solid freshman season, but shooting was often an issue, especially from the perimeter. He isn’t alone in UNC history in that most freshmen playing point guard, or who are on the ball a lot, simply take time to adjust to the college game, learn it, and get comfortable and confident playing at that level.
Shooting the ball is often one of the areas in need of improvement.
Let’s look at his stats:
*23.8 minutes, 7.3 points, 4.1 assists, 1.8 TOs, 41.7 FG%, 18.9 three% (10-for-53)
Now, Cadeau shot 48.1% inside the 3-point arc, so it’s clearly his perimeter shooting that needs the most work, from a statistical perspective. He also must get much better on defense and learn to cut down on fouling.
However, for the sake of perspective, we looked at seven previous UNC players who were either solely or mostly at point guard as freshmen, and tracked their careers to see the areas in which they improved.
This isn’t to suggest Cadeau will have similar jumps as the players noted, nor are we attempting to draw any conclusions. But it does help give some perspective on his first season at UNC, and that in each case noted below, the players got much better.
Note that RJ Davis is still in the program back for a fifth season. Also, we only included players from the 3-point era since that is a key element being gauged here.
Here are those seven players’ numbers:
Jeff McInnis
Freshman year: 14.6 minutes, 5.6 points, 2.4 assists, 45.8 FG%, 41.5 three% (27-for-65)
Sophomore year: 12.4 points, 5.3 assists, 2.1 TOs, 49.1 FG%, 39.3 three% (44-for-112)
Junior year: 16.5 points, 5.5 assists, 2.5 TOs, 43.5 FG%, 39.2 three% (67-for-171)
Notes: McInnis played behind Derrick Phelps his freshman season, and as a sophomore helped guide UNC to the Final Four. He was All-ACC as a senior.
Pros: McInnis played 11 seasons in the NBA scoring 5,296 points and handing out 2,514 assists.
Ed Cota
Freshman year: 8.0 points, 6.9 assists, 3.6 TOs, 48.7 FG%, 32.0 three% (8-for-25)
Sophomore year: 8.1 points, 7.4 assists, 3.1 TOs, 49.3 FG%, 30.3 three% (10-for-33)
Junior year: 10.5 points, 7.4 assists, 3.7 TOs, 40.6 FG%, 41.2 three% (42-for-102)
Senior year: 10.1 points, 8.1 assists, 3.3 TOs, 44.3 FG%, 36.7 three% (33-for-90)
Note: A three-time All-ACC, Cota helped lead UNC to three Final Fours, and is the program’s all-time leader with 1,030 assists.
Pros: Cota played nine seasons in Europe and was all-league one year.
Raymond Felton
Freshman year: 12.9 points, 6.7 assists, 3.7 TOs, 39.8 FG%, 35.8 three% (69-for-193)
Sophomore year: 11.5 points, 7.1 assists, 3.4 TOs, 42.0 FG%, 31.3 three% (35-for-112)
Junior year: 12.9 points, 6.9 assists, 3.6 TOs, 45.5 FG%, 44.0 three% (70-for-159)
Note: Felton was a starter from day one averaging 30-plus minutes each season, and he helped lead UNC to the 2005 national championship.
Pros: Felton played 14 seasons in the NBA scoring 10,853 points and handing out 5,096 assists.
Ty Lawson
Freshman year: 25.7 minutes, 10.2 points, 5.6 assists. 2.2 TOs, 50.0 FG%, 35.6 three% (31-for-87)
Sophomore year: 25.3 minutes, 12.7 points, 5.2 assists, 2.2 TOs, 51.5 FG%, 36.1 three% (30-for-83)
Junior year: 29.9 minutes, 16.6 points, 6.6 assists, 1.9 TOs, 53.2 FG%, 47.2 three% (51-for-108)
Note: Lawson was the ACC Player of the Year in 2009 when he helped lead UNC to the national championship.
Pros: Lawson played eight seasons in the NBA scoring 6,977 points and handing out 3,316 assists.
Marcus Paige
Freshman year: 8.2 points, 4.6 assists. 2.5 TOs, 35.6 FG%, 34.4 three% (45-for-131)
Sophomore year: 17.5 points, 4.2 assists, 2.1 TOs, 44.0 FG%, 38.9 three% (86-for-221)
Junior year: 14.1 points, 4.5 assists, 1.9 TOs, 41.3 FG%, 39.5three% (94-for-238)
Senior year: 12.6 points, 3.8 assists, 1.2 TOs, 39.8 FG%, 35.6three% (74-for-208)
Note: Paige was first-team All-ACC as a sophomore, and helped lead UNC to the national championship game as a senior.
Pros: Paige played five games with the Charlotte Hornets in the 2017-18 season. He played in the G-League and also overseas through the 2023 season.
Joel Berry
Freshman year: 13.2 minutes, 4.2 points, 1.5 assists, 0.7 TOs, 40.4 FG%, 35.3 three% (17-for-48)
Sophomore year: 12.8 points, 3.8 assists, 1.6 TOs, 44.4 FG%, 38.3 three% (68-for-178)
Junior year: 14.7 points, 3.6 assists, 1.9 TOs, 42.6 FG%, 38.3 three% (88-for-230)
Senior year: 17.1 points, 3.2 assists, 1.9 TOs, 39.6 FG%, 34.4 three% ( 93-for-270)
Notes: Berry was All-ACC multiple times, and was key in leading UNC to the 2017 national championship where he was named the Most Outstanding Player.
Pros: Berry signed a contract with the Los Angeles Lakers and played in three preseason games before being sent to their G-League team. He played a year for the Hornets’ G-League affiliate and a year overseas.
RJ Davis
Freshman year: 22.3 minutes per game, 8.4 points, 1.9 assists, 1.9 TOs, 35.0 FG%, 32.3 three% (32-for-99)
Sophomore year: 13.5 points, 3.6 assists, 1.9 TOs, 42.5 FG%, 36.7 three% (66-for-180)
Junior year: 16.1 points, 3.2 assists, 1.9 TOs, 43.8 FG%, 36.2 three% (63-for-174)
Senior year: 21.2 points, 3.5 assists, 1.5 TOs, 42.8 FG%, 39.8 three% (113-for-284)
Notes: Davis started 10 games as a freshman, but as a sophomore was integral in UNC reaching the national championship game, and last season was first-team All-America and ACC Player of the Year.
