By ADAM ZAGORIA & CHARLIE PARENT
Elliot Cadeau, the No. 1 point guard in the class of 2024 according to 247 Sports, committed to North Carolina Wednesday night on 247.
The 6-foot-1 New Jersey native and Link Academy (MO) star chose the Tar Heels over Kansas, Louisville, Syracuse, Texas and Texas Tech. He has the option of reclassifying to 2023 but won’t make that decision until the spring.
“They [North Carolina] are getting a winner,” Cadeau said during his commitment. “I’m a point guard that does anything to win, that doesn’t care about any stats, no fame, no recognition. I just want to do everything I can to be a winner.”
“Coach Hubert Davis has been in contact with me for almost a year now,” he told 247 Sports before his commitment. “I like how it’s the head coach talking to me every week. It really shows me that I’m a priority for them. Also they’re a winning program and I like winning a lot. I know if I were to go there I’ll have elite players around me that would help us win.”
2024 PG Elliot Cadeau put on a show in the win over Calvary Christian. He finished with an efficient 23 points and controlled the pace of the game all night. Special player pic.twitter.com/JA6tYtoONN
— Heat Film Room (@MiaHeatFilmRoom) December 4, 2022
Link Academy coach Bill Armstrong discussed Cadeau’s upside and skillset with ZAGSBLOG.
“He’s a throwback to the traditional pass first point guard,” Armstrong said. “His skill set is like that of Jason Kidd back in the day — a strong, physical explosive athlete that can get anywhere he wants to on the floor. His court vision and passing ability is as good as anyone I have ever seen.
“He sees plays 2 to 3 steps ahead of everyone else on the floor. Because of his vision and his basketball IQ, he makes everyone around him better. He is a very capable scorer but doesn’t need to score to have a major impact on the game. He’s the best high school point guard in the country in my opinion.”
Davis is fond of tough guards from New York and New Jersey. The Tar Heels currently feature junior point guard R.J. Davis from White Plains (N.Y.) Archbishop Stepinac and next year will add five-star point guard Simeon Wilcher of Roselle (N.J.) Catholic.
“Playing with King Rice and Brian Reese and Derrick Phelps and guys that had a chip on their shoulder and an edge about them in terms of competitiveness, that’s what you want because you want guys that have been through the fire,” Davis told ZAGSBLOG in September, speaking generally about New York and New Jersey players.
“College basketball is hard, playing at North Carolina is hard, you’re going to get knocked down and you want guys that have a fight to be able to persevere and get back up and continue to compete and I haven’t met anybody from this area that doesn’t have that in their personality.”
Cadeau is North Carolina’s second 2024 commit following small forward Drake Powell and the Tar Heels remain involved for Cardinal Hayes shooting guard Ian Jackson, who will visit Jan. 6, and Stepinac guard Boogie Fland, among others.
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