Elliot Cadeau transfer portal: Top 5 landing spots for UNC star ft. Kentucky

Elliot Cadeau is bidding farewell to the Tar Heels after two seasons. The UNC star announced on Tuesday that he will be entering the transfer portal. As a sophomore, the guard started in all 37 games, averaging 27.8 minutes.

Cadeau led the Tar Heels in assists this season with an NCAA 17th-best 6.2 per game and added 9.4 points and 2.9 rebounds. He improved his shooting from both the field and beyond the arc as a sophomore and also contributed defensively with 1.1 steals per game.

Let's take a look at where the young guard could end up next season.

Top 5 landing spots for Elliot Cadeau

#1, Kentucky Wildcats

Kentucky is a guard-heavy squad that could benefit from Cadeau's skill set. All four of the Wildcats' top four scorers are guards, and three of them will be out of eligibility when the team's March Madness run comes to an end.

The Wildcats are making their first Sweet 16 appearance since 2019, and to remain a top competitor next season, they will need some replacements for their senior guards.

Jaxson Robinson, Koby Brea and Lamont Butler will all leave Kentucky after this season. They average 13.0 ppg, 11.8 ppg and 11.1 ppg, respectively. Cadeau averages 9.4 ppg and is recording similar rebounds per game to the three Wildcats. Notably, the Tar Heel guard finds more success with assists than any of the three.

Cadeau could provide Kentucky with top playmaking ability and solid scoring, and playing for the Wildcats could allow him to grow with another blue blood in need of guards.

#2, Tennessee Volunteers

Like Kentucky, Tennessee is still dancing. Also like Kentucky, Tennessee will need new guards ahead of next season. The Volunteers are guard-heavy and will lose their three top scorers, all guards, at the end of this season.

Zakai Zeigler, one of the Tennessee stars who is out of eligibility, is a similar type of player to Cadeau. Both thrive in achieving assists, with Zeigler averaging 7.4 and Cadeau putting up 6.2 per game. Zeigler has the UNC star beat in scoring, but the two players' rebounding averages are nearly identical.

Cadeau could fill Zeigler's spot on the Volunteers' roster next season, as Zeigler's style of play has worked for Tennessee.

#3, Clemson Tigers

Clemson could also use some solid guards next season. If Cadeau wants to remain in the ACC, this could be a good fit.

The Tigers made their second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance this season as a No. 5 seed. They fell in the first round in an upset loss to McNeese State but still had an admirable season, serving as the only ACC team to beat Duke.

Both of Clemson's top guards, Chase Hunter and Jaeden Zackery, have exhausted their eligibility. The team has several guards with eligibility remaining, but none that put up stats as good as Cadeau's.

The Tigers will be losing their top assist leader in Zackery, who averages 3.1 apg. Cadeau stands out in assists, and his 6.2 average could bring Clemson to new heights.

#4, Missouri Tigers

Here's another Tigers team that could use Cadeau's help. Missouri relies heavily on its guards, with its eight top scorers all playing the position.

Caleb Grill and Tamar Bates, Mizzou's second- and third-best scorers this season, are both out of eligibility. The Tigers have several other admirable guards, but to continue playing guard-heavy basketball, they could benefit from adding some more solid guards to their squad.

Cadeau's 9.4 ppg average would make him the fourth-highest scorer on Missouri. With Grill and Bates gone, it would make him the second-highest scorer behind junior guard Mark Mitchell.

The UNC star's 6.2 apg could be huge for the Tigers, whose assist leader currently averages 3.5. This Mizzou squad is in need of high-scoring guards with proven success, and Cadeau could give the Tigers what they're looking for.

#5, Texas Tech Red Raiders

Texas Tech is in a similar situation to Missouri, with two of the team's top five scorers being senior guards. The Red Raiders will likely see the return of freshman guard Christian Anderson next season, but the young star who averages 10.5 ppg will need some help.

Anderson and Cadeau are similar players, but as we've seen with many of these teams, the Tar Heels star could provide assists not matched by Anderson. Texas Tech is familiar with having a guard who comes up clutch with assists. Right now, Elijah Hawkins leads the team in assists with 6.5. Hawkins is out of eligibility, so Cadeau could replace him as a guard with assisting excellence.