Elliot Cadeau greets campers.
WEST ORANGE, NJ — Elliot Cadeau, a West Orange resident and one of the top high school basketball players in the nation for the Class of 2024, always wants to give back to his community.
Cadeau conducted a free basketball camp on Dec. 30 for students who attend Washington Elementary School. All students in grades 2 to 5 were invited to the camp, which was held at the West Orange Boys & Girls Club. Fourteen basketball enthusiasts and their parents attended the morning camp, which included exercise and basic basketball in a fun environment.
Cadeau, who is from the Watchung Heights part of West Orange, was happy to provide the free camp.
“Living down the hill, many of my friends didn’t have the same opportunities as I did when I was little,” Cadeau said in a statement. “Some of my friends never went to camp. My family used to pay for neighborhood kids, so they could go to camp. Our car was always full with kids we took to camp. So now that I am in a position where I can help, I wanted to start as soon as I could.”
Cadeau also thanked Mayor Robert D. Parisi and the Boys & Girls Club for helping him organize the camp.
Cadeau, a sophomore who plays for Bergen Catholic in Oradell, is ranked as the No. 1 point guard in the nation and the No. 6 player overall in his class by ESPN as of Jan. 19.
Cadeau, 17, is represented by Drew Gross of Roc Nation, the entertainment agency founded by Jay-Z. As of Jan. 1, high school students in the state are allowed to promote their name, image and likeness.
In a Jan. 7 phone interview with the West Orange Chronicle, Cadeau said he is thrilled to join Roc Nation.
“I’m really excited,” Cadeau said. Cadeau said Gross has been very supportive. “He is always there for me, and he makes sure that I am good and he takes care of me. (My family and I) really felt comfortable with him, and we really like him.”
Cadeau recognizes the importance of being a role model.
“I feel like I have to set an example for everybody and show everybody how to do it the right way,” he said. “I would give advice to anybody that would ask of me, so I think of myself as a role model.”
Cadeau is excited to play for Bergen Catholic. He is currently sidelined with an ankle injury from a preseason scrimmage and is looking forward to playing for the first time this season at the end of the month. Bergen Catholic, under head coach Billy Armstrong, is one of the top teams in the state.
In 2019, Bergen Catholic finished as the state Tournament of Champions runner-up. This season, they’ve had an 8-3 record through Jan. 15.
“I really love Bergen Catholic,” Cadeau said. “They are really good. The coach is always there for me when I need him, even outside of basketball, so I’m glad that I picked that choice of high school.”
As the No. 1 sophomore point guard in the nation, Cadeau already has a long list of scholarship offers. Among them are offers from Texas Christian University, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Providence, Syracuse, Oklahoma State, Tennessee, Texas Tech, Siena, UMass and Howard University.
Cadeau’s older brother, Justin Cadeau, is also a standout athlete; he graduated from WOHS, where he played for the tennis team, in 2020 and is continuing his tennis career at Howard University on an athletic scholarship.
Cadeau, whose mother, Michelle, is from Sweden and whose father, James, is from Haiti, also plays for the U18 Swedish national team, which competed in the Nordic Cup tournament in Finland last August. He said he enjoys playing for the Swedish national team.
“It’s really good,” he said. “Basketball is totally different over there, so it gives me like an upper hand coming back to America. I have different experiences. I have really good experiences coming back that most people don’t get to have, playing in Europe. I feel like it’s really good for me and good for my development, and I am going to keep going over there every summer to play with them.”
For Cadeau, the future is, indeed, bright.
Photos Courtesy of Brandon Dorf
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