{"id":175279,"date":"2026-01-31T07:30:33","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T12:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=175279"},"modified":"2026-01-31T01:22:39","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T06:22:39","slug":"elliot-cadeau-finding-his-groove-for-michigan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/01\/31\/elliot-cadeau-finding-his-groove-for-michigan\/","title":{"rendered":"Cadeau\u2019s Evolution: How Michigan\u2019s PG is Finding His Groove"},"content":{"rendered":"

Elliot Cadeau\u2019s<\/a> stat line in Michigan\u2019s rivalry win over Michigan State is about more than just scoring ability.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cadeau\u2019s Evolution: How Michigan\u2019s PG is Finding His Groove<\/h2>\n

In the 83-71 victory<\/a> over the Spartans Friday night, Cadeau scored 17 points and dished out six assists, a two-way contribution that the Wolverines are used to seeing from the junior guard midway through the season.<\/span><\/p>\n

It highlights a guard who\u2019s finding the sweet spot between playmaking and efficiency. <\/span>Since transferring from North Carolina, Cadeau has grown into the kind of role player who maximizes possessions and creates space; both key parts of head coach Dusty May\u2019s<\/a> formula for success in the 2025\u201126 season.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Michigan
Michigan guard Elliot Cadeau (3) and Michigan State forward Coen Carr (55) battle for the ball during the first half at Breslin Center in East Lansing on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cadeau Performing by the Numbers<\/h3>\n

Cadeau\u2019s game has evolved since his time playing under Hubert Davis at North Carolina. In his final season playing under Davis, Cadeau averaged 9.4 points and 6.2 assists per game while shooting roughly 33% from three. His first season, that number was a sub-20%.<\/span><\/p>\n

This season at Michigan, his production is evident. He\u2019s averaging 10.3 points and 5.2 assists per game, knocking down over 41% from distance and cutting down on turnovers. <\/span>And Cadeau isn\u2019t just distributing; he\u2019s managing the game in clutch moments and creating scoring opportunities for his teammates.<\/span><\/p>\n

With the Tar Heels, he averaged roughly six assists against 3.1 turnovers per game. This season, his assist to turnover ratio is around 2.4:1, with 5.6 assists and 2.3 turnovers per game; proof of smarter decision making and efficiency in every possession.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dusty May\u2019s Guard Template<\/h3>\n

If Cadeau\u2019s role in May\u2019s system feels familiar, that\u2019s because it is. He\u2019s stepping into the same dynamic that former Florida Atlantic guard Johnell Davis<\/a> did during the Owls\u2019 improbable Final Four run in 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n

Davis was one of May\u2019s most important pieces that year, leading FAU in scoring by averaging 13.8 points per game and helping power one of the most memorable “Cinderella” runs in recent history.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the second round against Fairleigh Dickinson, Davis posted 29 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, and five steals. <\/span>The Owls finished 35\u20114 that year, a record the Wolverines are coincidentally on pace to match this season.<\/span><\/p>\n

And it’s safe to say that Cadeau\u2019s role at Michigan mirrors that style of play. Against the Spartans on Friday, Cadeau shot 62.5% from the floor.<\/span><\/p>\n

Like Davis, he thrives on competitive, scrappy and selfless basketball. When Cadeau’s teammates play better, so does he. <\/span><\/p>\n

That kind of mindset in guard play is dangerous against the right schemes, and it\u2019s the type of performance elite coaches like May and NBA scouts alike expect at the highest levels of competition.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a proven recipe for success.<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s Ahead for Michigan<\/h3>\n

Michigan doesn’t face its next ranked opponent until Feb. 12 in West Lafayette. Before then, the Wolverines host Penn State, travel to Ohio State and Northwestern before again hosting UCLA. <\/span>May’s squad then sees matchups against No. 12 Purdue and No. 4 Duke. <\/span><\/p>\n

How Cadeau manages his minutes down the stretch is key to keeping Michigan atop the conference standings heading into February and the Big Ten tournament as the Wolverines look to position themselves for a deep postseason run.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a9 Nick King\/Lansing State Journal \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Elliot Cadeau\u2019s stat line in Michigan\u2019s rivalry win over Michigan State is about more than just scoring ability. Cadeau\u2019s Evolution: How Michigan\u2019s PG is Finding His Groove In the 83-71 victory over the Spartans Friday night, Cadeau scored 17 points and dished out six assists, a two-way contribution that the Wolverines are used to seeing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5745,"featured_media":175293,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,773],"tags":[2980,805,866],"class_list":["post-175279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-college-basketball","tag-big-12-basketball","tag-michigan-state-spartans","tag-michigan-wolverines"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5745"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=175279"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175279\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":175297,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175279\/revisions\/175297"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/175293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=175279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=175279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=175279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}