You know what, he has earned this moment.
We hate to admit it, but seeing former 5-star UNC point guard Elliot Cadeau win the national title with Michigan was great to see. After not getting coached up properly in Chapel Hill (we're looking at you Hubert Davis), Cadeau entered the portal and Dusty May took a shot on him.
Elliot Cadeau's postgame quote shows he was never the problem at UNC
That decision paid off for both parties, with Cadeau being named the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player. Plenty of haters were proven wrong, and the list includes some UNC greats. It wasn't long ago that Justin Jackson, Theo Pinson and others were quick to write off the youngster. Shortly after Michigan lifted the trophy, Jackson and Pinson were quick to admit they were wrong, posting apologies on social media. You know what, we're glad they did this:
Elliot Cadeau won a natty, final 4 MOP (something I never did) and had an amazing season. Very well deserving of it all! Congrats and Enjoy! https://t.co/DPFJQahkb4
— Justin Jackson (@JJacks_44) April 7, 2026
S/o to your Brother‼️ HE did it‼️Well deserved had one hell of a year and deserved to be a MOP‼️ Proud of young fella‼️ https://t.co/LSvT7z75f1
— Theo pinson (@tpinsonn) April 7, 2026
Justin Jackson and Theo Pinson were quick to show Elliot Cadeau some love
Those posts came in response to Cadeau's brother calling out former UNC players - which a lot of us probably saw coming. Indeed, the point guard was getting ripped when he made his Carolina exit, being labeled a bust left and right.
After the win over UConn, an emotional Cadeau clapped back at everyone too a bit and we don't blame him for that. At the end of the day, things just didn't work out for him with the ACC side, but he landed in a dream spot in Ann Arbor.
It now has the UNC faithful wondering what could have been had he stayed in town, but we'll never know. What we do know is that a new UNC era is upon us, as Michael Malone has been hired and he's going to be aggressive in bringing in top talent.
There can be no more swings and misses, including similar signings to the one of Kyan Evans, who is already off to the transfer portal once again. We can only hope the glory days of UNC can return, but it will need to come with Cadeau nowhere near the program. He got his natty, which is great, but a lot of us just wish he could have been able to do so with the Heels instead.