Lucas: Cadeau Learning Game Speed

🎥: THE INTRO: Elliot Cadeau#CarolinaFamily | @ElliotCadeau pic.twitter.com/h6VtxqeSob
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) November 10, 2023

By Adam Lucas

Elliot Cadeau's listed hometown of West Orange, N.J., is less than 20 miles from Madison Square Garden, the heart of New York City basketball culture (and the site of a marquee Carolina showdown with Connecticut next month). Even on a bad traffic day, it would take less than an hour to drive from West Orange to the Garden.

But don't even think of suggesting that Cadeau is the latest in a long line of Tar Heel standouts from New York. It's an impressive lineage, including Jimmy Black, Kenny Smith, and—more recently—Cole Anthony, a player with whom Cadeau is well acquainted.

He wants to make it clear he's different.

"I'm a New Jersey point guard," Cadeau says. "Not a New York point guard."

And what's the difference?

"New Jersey is very different," he says. "New Jersey is very different. New Jersey point guards are better in every way. New Jersey has a lot of talented players, especially guards. We all know each other, and we're all competing against each other."

Cadeau made it obvious how much he loves the competition when he chose to reclassify up a year to speed his introduction to college basketball. The decision was the topic of significant spring speculation, but Cadeau had a very good reason for wanting to wait—after leading his Link Academy squad to a national title in April, he wanted to play as much as possible with his New York Lightning AAU teammates on the summer circuit.

Making the jump to college basketball hasn't been without its challenges. There have been days his shot hasn't gone in as much as he would like. There have been days he's been sent to gather loose balls and been the recipient of dubious foul calls—in other words, he's been treated like a Carolina freshman.

"My mom always told me to never be OK being the best player on a team," he says. "Because then in practice no one pushes you. Having to guard people like RJ (Davis) and Cormac (Ryan) is good for my development."

He's made tangible development even in his few months on campus. There were times this summer and even early in the preseason that he looked a little overwhelmed. Those occasions have been scarce lately.

Part of his adjustment was aided by Anthony, who returned for some Chapel Hill pickup games this summer. That was when he gave Cadeau what might seem like some odd advice for a team that Hubert Davis wants to play significantly faster than last year.

"One of the best pieces of advice he gave me was to slow down," Cadeau says. "He said I'm really fast, and that he used to be just like me when it comes to speed. He said I just need to learn to control it and use it at different times."

Once he masters the art of playing fast while under control, Cadeau will be an important part of the Carolina offense. His scoring will be a luxury. But he is already the best passer on the roster; already sees openings where others don't, in the best tradition of the best Tar Heel point guards (whether from New York or New Jersey or anywhere else).

"My game is pretty different from a lot of people," he says. "A lot of people in my position like to score. My identity is I like to pass a lot."

Wait a second. You like to…pass? In this era of individual trainers and scoring mixtapes?

"Yes," he says. "Instead of just me being happy, why can't everyone else be happy with me?"

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