Just a few days after getting eliminated from the NCAA tournament, Michigan basketball is already adding pieces for the 2025-26 season.
The Wolverines have expressed interest in a bunch of transfer portal targets, but things moved quickly with former North Carolina guard Elliot Cadeau, who announced his commitment to Michigan basketball on Monday.
The former five-star started 68 games for North Carolina the past two seasons. He averaged 9.4 points per game this season and averaged 6.2 assists. He's also a plus defender, at least he was this season, but did have some turnover issues. He also shot just 33 percent from 3-point range this season. He shot under 20 percent as a freshman.
Still, there is a ton of upside. Michigan basketball needed playmaking, and the Wolverines will get that in Cadeau, one of the best playmakers in the transfer portal.
Evan Miyakawa of EvanMiya.com wrote this on X about the addition of Cadeau, which he called, "A great pickup."
"One of the more polarizing players in the portal, there's no denying that Cadeau is an elite playmaker and distributor. He finished the season in the top 15 in predicted assist rate, in the 99th percentile nationally, earning an A+ grade in Assists and Playmaking Score at EvanMiya.com. As a scorer, he's pretty average in every department, but he's a decent rebounder for a PG and has solid defensive grades."
The fit alongside Tre Donaldson will be interesting, but it was clear at the end of the season that Michigan needed more playmaking and ball-handling, especially with Danny Wolf likely leaving for the NBA draft. Kevin Sweeney, of SI Now, wrote on X that he's "interested to see how Cadeau and Donaldson coexist."
Dusty May is a roster-building savant, so I'm curious to see how this marriage plays out. Michigan will need to find a lob target in the frontcourt to play in ball screens with Cadeau. Also interested to see how Cadeau and Donaldson coexist. https://t.co/LWXlRLyvfI
— Kevin Sweeney (@CBB_Central) March 31, 2025
John Fanta from CBS Sports and Fox Sports wrote that Dusty May and Michigan basketball, "Crushed it."
"Really like the Michigan pickup of North Carolina transfer Elliot Cadeau. Former 5-star recruit out of high school still has a lot of untapped upside and is fantastic at generating tempo. Averaged 9.4 PPG and 6.2 APG this past season."
Really like the Michigan pickup of North Carolina transfer Elliot Cadeau. Former 5-star recruit out of high school still has a lot of untapped upside and is fantastic at generating tempo. Averaged 9.4 PPG and 6.2 APG this past season.
— John Fanta (@John_Fanta) March 31, 2025
Dusty May crushed it on this one.
Finally, Scott Bell dropped some truth on Michigan basketball fans upset by the move.
Laughing at U-M fans aren’t happy about the Cadeau news. Seeing lots of complaints about his turnovers. Fun fact: If Cadeau was on U-M this past year, he would’ve finished No. 1 on the team in assist/TO ratio.
— Scott Bell (@sbell021) March 31, 2025
This team badly needed a ball handler/creator/distributor.
✅✅✅
All in all, this seems like a great addition, even though it does come with some risks, the reward certainly outweighs them. Even if Cadeau doesn't improve much as a shooter, he is one of the best playmakers in college basketball, which will be a major upgrade.