Top-ranked '24 PG Elliot Cadeau "definitely" wants to hear more from Kentucky

Elliot Cadeau is already making waves in the basketball world as he looks ahead to his junior year of high school. He recently became the first high schooler to sign with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation Sports for NIL representation, then signed a deal with Sweden-based sports drink company Vitamin Well. He’s also hosted “giveback” basketball camps in his community and has been adamant about his desire to play for the Swedish national team. Cadeau already has a gold medal from his play at the U18 Nordic Championship Cup.

The reason he’s been so successful early on is thanks to his impressive skills on the hardwood. Cadeau is considered the No. 1 point guard in the 2024 class, per On3, and a top 10 overall prospect. Clocking in at 6-foot-2, 165 pounds, the New Jersey native has established himself as a potentially elite point guard option in the near future.

“I’m really unselfish. I pride myself on that,” Cadeau told KSR about his game over the weekend. “I get my teammates involved, I make simple plays, stuff that people overlook. I just make my team better. And I can get a bucket, I can take over a fourth quarter if I need to.”

Playing for the New Heights Lightning on the Nike EYBL circuit this year, Cadeau is one of just two players on the roster playing up on the 17U squad. He and his team were in Louisville this past weekend for the third of four EYBL sessions. The NH Lightning posted a 4-1 record (now 13-2 overall on the circuit), losing to the top-ranked guard from the 2023 class in DJ Wagner and the rest of the New Jersey Scholars, 70-68, in what was a near classic down the stretch.

In five games for the NH Lighting in Louisville, Cadeau averaged 8.6 points, 3.8 assists, and 2.4 steals in 23.6 minutes per outing in an off-the-bench role while shooting 47.4 percent from the floor. His best outing was his last of the event — 16 points, five assists, and four steals with just one turnover in a 72-68 win over the Indy heat.

But in spite of his solid numbers, Cadeau isn’t hunting for stats. He just wants to win by any means necessary.

“I’m just trying to prove that I’m a winner,” he told KSR on Sunday. “I see a lot of kids on social media with a lot of good stats and stuff, but my team is 8-1 right now, and I think we’ll be going into the Peach Jam as the number one seed and I just want to prove that I’m the best point guard on the best team.”

Texas Tech leading the charge, but Kentucky is interested

In terms of his recruitment, Cadeau is high on several program’s Big Boards.

He holds offers from the likes of TCU, Texas Tech, St. John’s, Providence, Tennessee, Howard, Oklahoma State, Syracuse, and Maryland. When asked which schools are recruiting him the hardest right now, Cadeau rattled off a trio of Texas Tech, Syracuse, and Tennessee as ones he could think of off the top of his head.

Texas Tech has been called his “dream school” in the past despite growing up nearly 2,000 miles away in New Jersey. So far, he has just one official visit scheduled, which will be to Lubbock this fall the weekend of Sept. 25. Tennessee could very well get an official visit in the near future, as well. Cadeau is a big fan of Volunteers head coach Rick Barnes.

“I really like them,” Cadeau said of Tennessee. “They’ve produced a lot of good guards and coach (Barnes) is really tough on the players. They have a great fan base, they have great coaches, I like them.

Kentucky is a school that has been mentioned in the same breath as Cadeau, as well. A couple of Wildcat assistant coaches went to watch him practice earlier this year and the staff has been in contact with his coach a handful of times.

“I know that they produce pros. That it’s a one-and-done school. I know that.” Cadeau said of Kentucky.

When asked if he would like to hear more from UK, Cadeau quickly responded with a “definitely.”

“I’m just looking for development,” Cadeau added. “All the big schools have a lot of money, they have big stadiums, big facilities, but I’m looking for something that stands out like a coach that really shows interest in me and a coach that will really develop me.”

Reclassification could be on the table for Cadeau, who has the frame that would allow him to make a jump to the 2023 class. He says that’s still undecided though, and a decision won’t come until the end of the summer at the earliest.

“We don’t know yet. There’s talks,” Cadeau said of a potential reclass. “If I feel like I’m prepared at the end of the summer to move up a grade then I’ll do that, it’s whatever is best for me.”