Elliot Cadeau (born September 4, 2004) is an American-Swedish

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

player for the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

of the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

. He previously played for the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels (also Carolina Tar Heels) are the college sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to ...

. Cadeau was born in the United States, but represents Sweden internationally.

Early life

Cadeau was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, and raised in

West Orange, New Jersey West Orange is a suburban Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 48,843, an increase of 2,636 (+5.7%) from t ...

. His father, James, is Haitian while his mother, Michelle, is Swedish, hailing from

Skåne Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...

. As a child he loved

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and was a fan of the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

, but he was discouraged from playing the sport because his mother thought it was too dangerous, and suggested he try out for a basketball team instead. He also played baseball, soccer and tennis, but decided to focus on basketball in fifth grade. Cadeau attended The Patrick School in Hillside, New Jersey, for seventh and eighth grade. During this time he helped his club team, Sports U/Team IZOD, win the 2019 Under Armour Nationals.

High school career

Cadeau began his high school career at

Bergen Catholic High School Bergen Catholic High School is an all-male Roman Catholic high school in Oradell, in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, serving students in ninth through twelfth grade. Bergen Catholic operates under the supervision of the Roman ...

Oradell, New Jersey Oradell is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 8,244, an increase of 266 (+3.3%) from the 2010 census count of 7,978, which in turn reflected a decline ...

. He served as the Crusaders' starting

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

during his freshman season, which was shortened due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Cadeau averaged 11.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game, leading his team to a 7–2 record. He was named to the

MaxPreps MaxPreps is an American website that specializes in coverage of American high school sports. The site is currently owned by PlayOn. Founded on August 1, 2002, the company has covered up to 29 sports, including boys, girls, and co-ed sports. ...

Freshman All-American First Team. Cadeau missed his entire sophomore season due to a high ankle sprain he suffered during a scrimmage against Gill St. Bernard's School in December 2021. He transferred to Link Academy in

Branson, Missouri Branson is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri. Most of the city is situated in Taney County, Missouri, Taney County, with a small portion in the west extending into Stone County, Missouri, Stone County. Branson is in the Ozarks, Ozark Mountain ...

, ahead of his junior year. Cadeau played AAU basketball for the New Heights Lightning on the

Nike Elite Youth Basketball League The Nike Elite Youth Basketball League, also known as Nike EYBL, or simply EYBL, is a basketball circuit for teams of players aged 17 and under. The circuit was founded in 2010 and is composed of AAU travel teams. Both boys and girls play in the ...

(EYBL) circuit. He was named to the EYBL All-Underclassman team in 2021, and earned All-EYBL Third Team honors in 2022.

Recruiting

Before his reclassification, Cadeau was widely regarded as the top point guard in the class of 2024. Even after reclassifying to the 2023 class, he was a unanimous five-star recruit. In September 2022, Cadeau took his first official visit to

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship institution of the five- ...

, which he described as his dream school growing up. This was followed by a visit to

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

the following month. On December 28, 2022, Cadeau committed to coach

Hubert Davis Hubert Ira Davis Jr. (born May 17, 1970) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball, North Carolina Tar Heels men's team. Before his coaching care ...

of North Carolina. He made his reclassification official on May 30, 2023, after weeks of speculation, in part due to his stellar play in the GEICO Nationals and on the EYBL circuit.

College career

North Carolina

Cadeau enrolled at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

in 2023. As a freshman with the Tar Heels, he averaged 7.3 points and 4.1 assists per game. On February 10, 2024, Cadeau scored a career-high 19 points with eight assists against

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. As a sophomore, Cadeau averaged 9.4 points per game and was second in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

(ACC) with 6.2 assists per game. On January 21, 2025, he scored 14 points with a career-high 13 assists against Wake Forest. He started 68 games in his first two collegiate seasons before entering the

NCAA transfer portal The NCAA transfer portal is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) application, database, and compliance tool created to manage and facilitate the process for student athletes seeking to transfer between member institutions. It is i ...

Michigan

On March 31, 2025, Cadeau transferred to the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

to play for head coach Dusty May.

National team career

Junior teams

Cadeau played a tournament in Sweden with his middle school team and caught the attention of the country's national team coaches when they discovered he had Swedish heritage. He was invited to the national under-15 team training camp and helped the team take first place at the 2019 North Sea Development Basketball Cup held in Denmark, averaging 9.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. Cadeau was subsequently called up to the national under-16 team ahead of the 2020 Baltic Sea Basketball Cup held in Estonia, where he helped Sweden win the gold medal. Cadeau led the national under-18 team to a gold medal at the 2021 Under-18 Nordic Championships. He was unable to repeat this feat at the following year's edition, where Sweden finished fourth. In the opening game against

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

, Cadeau recorded 40 points, seven rebounds and five steals. He was named the MVP of the tournament. Cadeau helped Sweden win a gold medal at the

2022 FIBA U18 European Championship Division B The 2022 FIBA U18 European Championship Division B was the 16th edition of the Division B of the European basketball championship for national under-18 teams. It was played from 29 July to 7 August 2022 in Ploiești, Blejoi and Bucov, Romania. ...

in Romania, averaging 21.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game. He recorded 36 points, five rebounds, four assists, and four steals in the championship game victory against

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, earning tournament MVP honors.

Senior team

Cadeau received his first call-up to the senior national team in November 2021 ahead of a pair of FIBA World Cup qualifiers against

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

and

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

. Being that he was only 17 years old, he called the decision completely unexpected. Cadeau made his senior debut on 24 February 2023 against

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in a 2023 World Cup qualifying game in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, and he recorded four points and one steal in seven minutes of play.

Career statistics

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2023–24 , style="text-align:left;",

, 37 , , 31 , , 23.8 , , .417 , , .189 , , .648 , , 2.2 , , 4.1 , , 0.8 , , 0.1 , , 7.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2024–25 , style="text-align:left;",

, 37 , , 37 , , 27.8 , , .445, , .337 , , .670 , , 2.9 , , 6.2 , , 1.1 , , 0.3 , , 9.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"
Career
, 74 , , 68 , , 25.8 , , .432 , , .281 , , .660 , , 2.5 , , 5.1 , , 0.9 , , 0.2 , , 8.3

Personal life

Cadeau comes from an athletic family. His father was an avid tennis player while his older brother, Justin, plays

college tennis The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) is the governing body and coaches' association of United States college tennis, both an advocate and authority, overseeing men's and women's varsity tennis at all levels – NCAA Division I, NCAA Divi ...

Howard Howard is a masculine given name derived from the English surname Howard. ''The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names'' notes that "the use of this surname as a christian name is quite recent and there seems to be no particular reason for ...

. Cadeau also has congenital

hearing loss Hearing loss is a partial or total inability to hear. Hearing loss may be present at birth or acquired at any time afterwards. Hearing loss may occur in one or both ears. In children, hearing problems can affect the ability to acquire spo ...

and is deaf in his right ear.

Social media and endorsements

On January 1, 2022, Cadeau became the first high school basketball player to sign with

Roc Nation Sports Roc Nation Sports is the sports management division of Roc Nation. History Roc Nation Sports was founded by Jay-Z in early 2013 in partnership with Creative Artists Agency, a prominent talent agency based in Los Angeles. Roc Nation Sports' fir ...

for

Name, Image and Likeness In college athletics in the United States, a student-athlete who participates in a varsity sport on any and all levels is eligible to profit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL). Historically, the National Association of Intercollegiate At ...

(NIL) representation. In April 2022, he signed an endorsement deal with Swedish vitamin drink Vitamin Well, becoming the first American high school athlete to sign an international NIL deal. He also has deals with Leaf Trading Cards,

Wilson Sporting Goods The Wilson Sporting Goods Company is an American sports equipment manufacturer based in Chicago, Illinois. Wilson makes equipment for many sports, among them baseball, badminton, American football, basketball, fastpitch softball, golf, racquetball ...

and Swedish company Flowlife. In addition, he has his own clothing line called Elliot Cadeau Wear.

References

External links

*
North Carolina Tar Heels bio

Swedish Basketball Federation profile

Elliot Cadeau
at

RealGM RealGM.com is a sports website created in 2000. The site was originally a basketball site, but has since expanded its scope to provide information about American football, baseball, ice hockey and soccer. According to Alexa, the site ranked in th ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cadeau, Elliot 2004 births Living people American men's basketball players American people of Swedish descent American sportspeople of Haitian descent Basketball players from Brooklyn Basketball players from Essex County, New Jersey Bergen Catholic High School alumni North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball players Point guards Sportspeople from West Orange, New Jersey Swedish men's basketball players Swedish people of Haitian descent 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century Swedish sportsmen