INDIANAPOLIS — Elliot Cadeau’s journey to the Final Four took an unexpected twist on Wednesday when Michigan’s junior point guard got wheeled out of the Wolverines’ practice facility and loaded into an ambulance while dealing with an allergic reaction to a piece of salmon that he didn’t realize was coated with cashews.
“I feel like it wasn’t as dramatic as it seemed,” Cadeau said of the scene, which understandably sent a wave of shock through the Wolverines.
Cadeau described his worst symptom as some hives and said, “I never felt nervous about it.”
The episode nevertheless disrupted his Final Four travel itinerary, and it embodied Cadeau’s unorthodox path to the Final Four. As the rest of the Wolverines boarded a Wednesday flight to Indianapolis, Cadeau stayed back under medical supervision before taking a four-hour car ride to Indianapolis with a Michigan staffer on Thursday morning.
Both Cadeau’s physical journey to Indianapolis on Thursday and his three-year journey to the sport’s ultimate proving ground were never expected to look like this. But the former five-star prospect is here just the same. In both cases, he arrived a touch later than initially expected.
“EC is just the ultimate competitor, the ultimate unselfish point guard,” veteran Michigan forward Will Tschetter said.
That’s always been the case for Cadeau, only now he’s on a team that allows him to be the ultimate version of himself.
“I have a lot of talented players around me that help bring out my best performances because I’m a pass-first guy,” Cadeau said. The former five-star prospect and two-year starter at North Carolina added that “I think the coaching staff has done really good in developing me.”
As the starting point guard in 2024 for a UNC team that earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, Cadeau averaged a team-high 4.1 assists. But as just an 18.9% 3-point shooter that season, he also caught some flak.
A year ago, Cadeau finished second in the ACC in assists per game (6), despite logging only 27.8 minutes per contest. He also improved his 3-point shooting to a respectable 33.7%. But the shrapnel kept coming amid a 1-for-8 shooting performance in North Carolina’s first-round NCAA Tournament loss to Ole Miss, which capped a disappointing season for the Tar Heels.
Once ranked the No. 12 overall prospect in the high school recruiting class of 2023, he was regarded as only the No. 60 player in the 2025 transfer cycle by 247Sports. He was the No. 14 point guard transfer, but Michigan snatched him up quickly. He was committed to the Wolverines by the end of March, and he’s turned out to be a perfect fit for Michigan, which will take on fellow No. 1 seed Arizona on Saturday night inside Lucas Oil Stadium.
The 13 point guard transfers ranked ahead of Cadeau have all been eliminated. But here Cadeau is, still standing after taking the hits for two seasons before finding the right fit as the smallest player within a group of towering Wolverines.
“It means everything,” Cadeau said. “I take pride in winning a lot, and to be able to win this and get to the Final Four, it’s a great accomplishment.”
Wolverines coach Dusty May refers to Cadeau as a “psycho competitor,” which translates to the fact that winning is genuinely the one thing Cadeau cares about more than anything else. His mental makeup, combined with his self-proclaimed pass-first mentality, made him a priority for the Wolverines in the portal.
When Michigan’s 2024-25 point guard Tre Donaldson left for Auburn after last season, Tschetter recalled talking with the Wolverines staff about what Michigan needed at the position. Cadeau checked the boxes.
“It was just continuing to bring in ultra-competitive guys,” Tschetter said. “They had mentioned that EC would fit that mold. Just in the first few days of practice with him, just seeing how absorbed he was with just winning, winning, winning and how pissed off he was whenever he was losing, I just knew that it was going to be a good fit.”
All Michigan has done with Cadeau leading the attack offensively is win. The Wolverines are 35-3, already two victories clear of the program’s previous record for wins in a season. Cadeau is fourth on the team in scoring (10.2 points per game) but leading the way in assists (5.8).
“The assist numbers may not show it, but I believe he’s the best passer in the country,” fellow starting guard Nimari Burnett said of Cadeau, who finished fourth in the Big Ten in assists per game. “Just the IQ, him seeing the game before it happens a lot of the time, it’s been a joy to play with him.”
Cadeau is also shooting a career-best 37.7% from 3-point range on 4.3 attempts per contest while showing far more eagerness to let it fly from beyond the arc after attempting just 2.3 3-pointers per game with the Tar Heels last season.
As Michigan’s convoy of tanks bruise opponents into oblivion, Cadeau keeps them fed and then lurking on the perimeter as a high-efficiency catch-and-shoot threat.
“Just shooting without thinking about anything,” Cadeau said, adding that his confidence level is up from his first two seasons of college basketball.
On a team that ranks No. 28 nationally in average height that is largely defined by a trio of starters who are 6-foot-9 or taller, Cadeau is an obvious exception at 6-foot-1.
But outside of the towering trio of Yaxel Lendeborg, Morez Johnson Jr. and Aday Mara, Cadeau rates as Michigan’s next-best defender, per EvanMiya.com. Then, there’s a component of vocal leadership, which can’t be quantified in the box score or by advanced analytics.
“When we’re at our best, his voice is heard,” May said last week. “We actually made a comment, staff was watching film this morning, about how tough he is. He is an absolute Tasmanian Devil when he’s at his best. He’s impactful. He takes it personal.”
Cadeau’s all-around impact on both ends of the floor is shown in how he leads the charge, not only on offense, but also in the way he picks up opposing guards for a defense that ranks No. 1 nationally in efficiency, per KenPom.
“Picking up, getting into dude’s grills,” Tschetter said. “That’s obviously super inspiring. You’re maybe sitting back and you see a guy turning someone or getting over a ball screen, it really just sets the tone.”
Cadeau’s importance to Michian was reflected Wednesday in the team’s response to seeing him wheeled out of practice amid an unexpected bout of cashew chaos.
“It also just shows him how much he means to his teammates,” May said. “They were very concerned, obviously, like we all would be for a reaction like that.
May added that, “Dude is a warrior.”
Cadeau has the scars to show for his battles. Now, he has the team’s success to accompany them as well.
