Elliot Cadeau became the first UNC men’s basketball player this offseason to enter his name into the NCAA’s transfer portal on Tuesday afternoon.

Several outlets, including Inside Carolina and ESPN, reported the move — signaling the talented sophomore point guard will be seeking opportunities elsewhere from the Tar Heel program.

A former five-star recruit out of New Jersey, Cadeau reclassified up a year into UNC’s recruiting class of 2023 – meaning his freshman season in Chapel Hill should have been his senior year of high school. He started 31 of a possible 37 games for the Tar Heels that season, averaging 7.3 points and 4.1 assists per game while helping Carolina win the ACC regular-season title. He was named to the ACC’s All-Freshman Team.

As a sophomore, Cadeau started all 37 of his team’s games and increased his scoring to 9.4 points per game. But his turnovers increased as well: from 1.8 per game to 3.1 per game. Cadeau’s struggles mirrored the Tar Heels’, as UNC finished as the last team in to the NCAA Tournament and lost in the first round. He finished his sophomore season with the most assists in the Atlantic Coast Conference (231) and second most per game (6.2).

Just minutes after Cadeau’s announcement, another Tar Heel reportedly entered his name into the portal: junior forward Jalen Washington.

Another former five-star recruit, Washington unfortunately had the start of his collegiate career delayed due to a major knee injury which forced him to miss the entirety of his senior season of high school. Once he began playing as a freshman in Chapel Hill, Washington averaged 2.2 points and 1.4 rebounds in 20 games. His numbers stayed modest as a sophomore: 3.9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 8.3 minutes per game as Armando Bacot’s primary backup.

Many viewed Washington as a breakout candidate in the 2024-25 season, but the junior never found his footing, starting 16 games but eventually losing that spot to Ven-Allen Lubin. Washington averaged 5.7 points and 4.2 rebounds per game as a junior.

 

Featured photo by Todd Melet

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