Change at point guard?
Elliot Cadeau has been struggling with his ball handling this season. He has been assisting at a good rate, but his turnovers have been climbing, especially against good teams. Against UCLA in Madison Square Garden, Cadeau had five assists against five turnovers. Over his last six games against ranked teams, he has accumulated 25 turnovers.
Last night, UNC seemed to make a minor adjustment that seems to have made quite a difference. In soccer terms, there are two types of midfielders. A "6" is a deep-lying or defensive midfielder who sits in front of the central defenders. An "8" or attacking midfielder is further up the pitch, and links play from defense to the wings and striker, usually unlocking the final pass that leads to a goal. Cadeau went from a 6 to 8 against Campbell.
RJ Davis was doing a lot of ball handling out of made baskets, mostly in the first half. He would bring the ball up the court and deal with any initial pressure, and Cadeau would focus on running sets in the half-court. It seems to be a winning formula.
Cadeau had a career-high 12 assists against only three turnovers and was an absolute menace in pick-and-roll sets, taking advantage of UNC's size advantage. He made Jalen Washington look like prime John Henson, catching balls in the paint in spaces that didn't even require a dribble to dunk.
Was this subtle change a look at what UNC's attack will look like going forward? Elliot Cadeau is UNC's only true point guard, though the Tar Heels are stacked with three very capable combo guards. Whatever it takes to keep the offense moving like they did against Campbell will be a huge boon in ACC play.