Michigan PG Elliot Cadeau: 'Big men like to play with me because I get them the ball'

Michigan Wolverines basketball landed North Carolina point guard transfer Elliot Cadeau only three days after its season ended in the Sweet 16.

Cadeau and those close to him met with head coach Dusty May at a Starbucks in the Atlanta area less than 12 hours after the Wolverines fell to Auburn in the South Regional semifinal, and days later the 6-foot-1, 180-pounder became Michigan’s first transfer commit of the offseason.

“It was nice to match a face with a voice and be able to meet some of the coaches,” Cadeau said on the ‘Defend The Block’ podcast with host Brian Boesch.

Michigan typically has prior connections to each of its transfer additions, and this one was no different. Cadeau’s former head coach at Branson (Mo.) Link Academy, Bill Armstrong, told the point guard that the college coach most similar to his style of leadership is May. Armstrong and May have had a relationship for years, so it was easy to get acquainted and comfortable.

“I definitely see the similarities, and I’m looking forward to seeing even more similarities as I get to know Coach even more,” Cadeau mentioned.

Michigan lost immense talent from last season, but Cadeau was confident he would be only the first of several dominoes to fall with the roster this offseason.

“I knew they were gonna do a great job recruiting, especially coming off a great year like they had,” the Michigan guard said. “I knew they were gonna get recruits, so I kinda put my trust in Coach.

“He told me if I was to commit, it would bring a higher chance of better recruits coming, because I feel like my play style kinda attracts other talented players. So, I committed, and a bunch of other great players committed after me — and I was very excited.”

Michigan has put together a talented roster, and the group has big ideas heading into the 2025-26 campaign. This summer, Cadeau and Co. have worked to build camaraderie for the season.

“It’s definitely important, because we have big goals,” Cadeau said. “We want to win a national championship. We want to win a Big Ten Tournament championship, regular season. That’s something that is non-negotiable, something that we have to do. We’re definitely focused on that and doing stuff off the court, on the court, that will help us with that.”

The West Orange, Nj., native was the lone guard transfer to join Michigan, but the Wolverines brought in three front court players from the portal — sophomore forward Morez Johnson Jr. (Illinois), junior center Aday Mara (UCLA) and graduate forward Yaxel Lendeborg (Alabama Birmingham).

“I feel like my whole basketball career I did attract big men,” Cadeau said. “I feel like big men like to play with me because I get them the ball a lot.

“I guess Coach showed Morez, Aday and Yax some of my film, kinda showing them how it would probably be easier to come play with a point guard like me.”

On that note, this stat stands out: Last season, Cadeau averaged 3.4 assists per game on shots at the rim, ranking in the 99th percentile nationally. He can create easy looks for his teammates, and that’ll endear himself to them.

In summer workouts, Cadeau has already seen the fit between himself and Michigan’s bigs, and those front court players with each other.

“I think our play styles really complement each other,” he said. “I say that with all the bigs. Like, [graduate forward] Will [Tschetter is] a great shooter, and he spaces the floor for me. ‘Rez is a good lob threat — very energetic. He does it all. Aday, I can just throw the ball in the air and he can catch it. I feel like we all complement each other, and it’ll show on the court this year.”

Pass-first point guard Elliot Cadeau working on limiting turnovers, improving outside shot

A true pass-first point guard, Cadeau averaged 9.5 points, 6.2 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game at North Carolina last season, helping the Tar Heels reach the NCAA Tournament. Cadeau has long been a distributor, learning that skill before getting comfortable as a scorer around eighth or ninth grade.

Growing up, I played with a lot of talented players, and I was never really a scorer. I kinda just distributed the ball and got them the ball. 

“It’s been a long process for me,” Cadeau said. “I learned how to score when I was younger. It took me a while, but I learned how to put the ball in the hoop, and as I did that I kinda just kept my passing abilities and built on that, too.”

Cadeau led the ACC with a 38.2-percent assist rate in 2024-25, but he also posted a 26.1-percent turnover rate, the fifth-highest in the conference, recording 3.1 turnovers per contest.

“That’s something I’ve been working on, and I’ve done a lot of film and stuff like that,” Cadeau said. “Turnovers have never been a problem for me my whole basketball career, expect for last year, the stretch of games last year. So, I’m fully confident that won’t be an issue at all this coming year.”

Besides passing, Cadeau said the following traits are his other biggest strengths: “Definitely going down hill, touching the paint, getting my teammates involved and just making offense out of nothing is my biggest strength.”

Meanwhile, he’s working on his outside shot. He drilled 33.7 percent of his three-point shots last season, on only 86 attempts. His catch-and-shoot numbers are better than his off-the-dribble shooting, so he’s looking to improve the latter.

“I’m definitely still working on shooting. I improved a lot from my freshman to sophomore year, but I’m still looking to improve on that, especially off the dribble and just creating space into my shot,” he said. “That’s something I’m working on to get elite for the next level.”