UNC Basketball: New Number for Returning Sophomore

Due to Cormac Ryan's departure, UNC basketball guard Elliot Cadeau gets to break out his old high school number.

UNC basketball / Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

None of the incoming UNC basketball recruits wear No. 2, or at least they didn't in high school. Neither does Tar Heel portal prize Cade Tyson nor any of the program's top remaining transfer targets.

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So, it seems that Elliot Cadeau is making the shift from donning No. 2 as a rookie in Chapel Hill to No. 3 next season purely out of personal preference. It's the number he sported as a five-star prep, his mother, Michelle Cadeau, noted on Friday night while confirming her 19-year-old son will have a No. 3 across his chest and on his back for the 2024-25 Tar Heels.

Cormac Ryan, who transferred from Notre Dame last year and expired his eligibility as a UNC basketball starter alongside Cadeau, wore No. 3 for last season's Tar Heels.

Yup!! Back to his original number!

— Michelle Cadeau (@thecadeaus) May 4, 2024

As a freshman last season after reclassifying from 2024 to 2023, Elliot Cadeau didn't appear bothered without his preferred jersey number. No, the 6-foot-1, 180-pound playmaker from New Jersey often dazzled as the team's primary floor general, averaging 7.3 points, 4.1 assists, and only 1.8 turnovers per game as an ideal complementary backcourt running mate with RJ Davis.

Davis, who could become the last Tar Heel to ever wear No. 4 if he adds a National Player of the Year distinction to the long list of awards he compiled as a senior, is returning for a fifth campaign in Chapel Hill, the ACC Player of the Year confirmed on Wednesday morning.

Stay tuned to All Tar Heels on SI for more UNC basketball news.