"You won't recognize him this year": North Carolina's Hubert Davis thrilled with Elliot Cadeau’s rapid "growth" ahead of breakout 2024-25 season
North Carolina Tar Heels coach Hubert Davis expressed excitement over the rapid growth of sophomore guard Elliot Cadeau, envisioning the American-Swedish player to have a breakout year in the 2024-25 college basketball season.
Speaking on the second day of the ACC Media Day on Thursday, Davis was excited about Cadeau's rapid improvement during the offseason and expects him to step up and help North Carolina surpass its Sweet 16 finish last season.
"You won't recognize him this year," Davis said. "Obviously, he's so talented. He can shoot the ball. The way defense is playing him last year. It could play tricks with you like, 'What's going on here?'
"Nothing mechanically wrong with his shot. He's worked extremely hard this summer. He's consistently knocking down threes, midrange jump shots. The level that I've seen is the progression of maturity and the leadership. It's just off the charts," he added.
Davis also spoke about how the 6-foot-1 guard progressed during the offseason, months after the Tar Heels lost to Alabama in the West Regional in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Cadeau took the loss by heart and vowed to improve this coming season:
"The five returners talked about what they've felt going to the locker room after we've lost in the Sweet 16 and being up three with 1:23 to go and having a chance to play in the Elite Eight and wanting to have a chance to possibly get back there again. It's something that has drove Elliot. I'm really excited about his growth this year," he said.
Hubert Davis expects Cadeau, who averaged 7.3 points, 2.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 37 games last season, to form a 1-2 punch with returning fifth-year senior RJ Davis, as North Carolina seeks to defend its ACC regular season title and secure another trip to the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
North Carolina's Hubert Davis speaks about having another voice on the court other than RJ Davis
Davis also spoke about finding another player to settle his teammates down when the game is tense. He pointed out that it is not always leading scorer RJ Davis motivating the troops.
Davis wants returning players Elliot Cadeau, Jae'Lyn Withers, Seth Trimble and Jalen Washington, transfers Cade Tyson and Ven-Allen Lubin and the freshmen to speak out as well.
"Those guys are going to have to come along just like those other guys to bind us together to be the type of team that we were last year," Davis said as per "The Field of 68" podcast.
(from 1:37:54 mark onwards)
Davis is also excited about the team's athleticism, versatility and quickness but he's noted that he's concerned about how North Carolina will approach the loss of a rebounder like Armando Bacot and Harrison Ingram.
The Tar Heels will give a glimpse of what's in store for the coming season with the Blue-White Scrimmage on Oct. 12 at Dean E. Smith Center. They're scheduled to play exhibition games against Memphis (Oct. 15) and Johnson C. Smith (Oct. 27) before starting their regular season campaign against Elon on Nov. 4.