UNC’s backcourt struggles have highlighted the value of Elliot Cadeau, who has thrived at Michigan while the Tar Heels search for stability at point guard.
North Carolina believed it was in a good place in the backcourt despite several key departures, including point guard Elliot Cadeau, who transferred to Michigan. As it turns out, the Tar Heels miss him more than they expected.
North Carolina has struggled throughout most of the season to figure out who it wants to roll out in the backcourt. For most of the year, the starting guards have been Kyan Evans, Luka Bogavac and Seth Trimble. While Trimble has had the best season of his career in Chapel Hill, the newcomers Bogavac and Evans have struggled.
Bogavac struggled shooting throughout December, and those issues continued through the first four games of ACC play before he was benched. While Bogavac’s struggles are partly due to adjusting to a different style of play that is a far cry from what most teams run in Europe, Evans has simply fallen off hard.
A season ago, Evans averaged 10.6 points while shooting 47.1% from the field and 44.6% from 3-point range, which ranked 24th in the country. However, those numbers have dropped significantly at Carolina, as he is now averaging 5.7 points per game while shooting 35.5% from the field and 32.5% from beyond the arc. In conference play, he has continued to struggle, averaging 5.7 points per game while shooting 31.7% from the field and 36.7% from 3. He was benched for Derek Dixon before UNC’s loss to Cal.
Cadeau, on the other hand, has excelled as Michigan’s point guard, averaging 10.0 points and 5.2 assists on 45% shooting from the field and 41.2% from 3-point range. He has also been one of the reasons the Wolverines are the No. 3 team in the country.
In Big Ten play, he has averaged 10.7 points and nearly six assists per game while shooting 45.6% from the field. His 3-point percentage has slipped to 34.6%, but numbers usually dip when teams get into conference play.
It Goes Beyond the Numbers
To me, the biggest separation between the two is how often they get to the free throw line.
Cadeau averages 2.8 free throw attempts per game overall and 3.5 attempts in conference play. Meanwhile, Evans has averaged 0.6 free throw attempts for the entire season and has had only three attempts from Thanksgiving Day until now, making just one. All three came in UNC’s win over Wake Forest on Jan. 10. He has made only 63.6% of his free throws, which is concerning.
Cadeau has had 28 free throw attempts throughout the month of January, and the month isn’t even over yet. He has made 21 of them, good for 75%.
This shows that Cadeau is not afraid to slash and draw contact, something Evans hasn’t shown he can do.
It also shows that Carolina is missing a true point guard. Bogavac, Dixon, Evans and Trimble are all combo guards who can do a bit of everything, but they do not have the acumen of a true point guard. That’s a major reason Carolina has struggled so much in the backcourt.
Maybe North Carolina talked itself into believing the committee approach would be enough. Maybe it thought shooting and experience could cover for the loss of a true floor general. But every empty possession, every stagnant half-court set and every missed opportunity at the rim keeps circling back to the same problem.
Michigan has the downhill, playmaking point guard who can get them organized, get them to the line and get them out of trouble. North Carolina has a collection of capable combo guards still trying to be something they’re not.
In the end, the numbers don’t just say Cadeau is thriving — they say the Tar Heels misjudged just how much they’d miss the one player built to run this backcourt.
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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC Basketball: Why the Tar Heels miss Elliot Cadeau
Category: General Sports
