When Elliot Cadeau was in the game, he made things look easy against Cincinnati. 

In the junior guard’s team-leading 31 minutes Friday, he recorded seven assists to just two turnovers and got to the line 15 times. He was the engine that drove the No. 7 Michigan men’s basketball team’s offense.

But when he wasn’t in the game, the Wolverines looked different. Cadeau is the only established true point guard on Michigan’s roster. And without him on the floor against the Bearcats, the Wolverines’ offense looked more clunky, sluggish and turnover prone.

“Most of our turnovers, we were trying to get entries with our non-point guards in,” Michigan coach Dusty May said Monday. “They’re being pressured up top, over-pressured, and at that point we should open up some space and just try to drive that over-pressure.”

While Cadeau generally stayed clean, his teammates combined for 18 turnovers against Cincinnati. Beside Cadeau, graduate forward Yaxel Lendeborg and senior guard Roddy Gayle Jr. took on significant perimeter ball-handling roles Friday. And they committed four and eight turnovers, respectively.

These marks are especially worrying for the Wolverines given their turnover struggles a season ago. Last season, Michigan had only one experienced starting point guard on the roster — just like it does this year — and it had the most turnovers per game in the Big Ten.

Aside from turnovers, the Wolverines’ shot quality also dipped when Cadeau was out Friday. Without its point guard to jumpstart the offense, Michigan’s wings too often resorted to sizing up their own defender on the perimeter, slowing the game down.

The Wolverines’ first offensive possession of the game without Cadeau was emblematic of this trend. After a made basket, Lendeborg walked the ball up the floor. After a pass deflection, Lendeborg found Gayle. Two of Gayle’s teammates crowded him on the left wing, trying to screen for him, but Gayle darted in the opposite direction toward the rim and was called for a charge. Three possessions later, Cadeau was back in the game.

“I don’t think we had one quick swing the entire game,” May said. “Almost every time we caught the ball off the first pass out of the ball screen, we tried to play one-on-one against a set defense.”

One candidate to step up in Cadeau’s time off the floor is sophomore guard L.J. Cason. Cadeau himself said Sept. 30 at Michigan Media Day that Cason is “definitely the primary ball-handler” whenever he isn’t in the game. But Cason and Cadeau are different players.

While Cadeau is a passer first and foremost, Cason’s first look is often to score on his own. Last season, he averaged one assist and 0.9 turnovers in 12 minutes per game. As he continues to develop his playmaking skills, it’s still a question how far he can get this season.

“L.J. knows his long-term potential at the highest levels of basketball is playing the point, so he’s gonna continue to work on being a better point guard,” May said Sept. 30. “… I think there’s gonna be nights when we need L.J. to come in and facilitate, and I think there’s gonna be other nights where we’re gonna say ‘Hey L.J., go do what you do and make some stuff happen.’ ”

It’s key that, at least for now, “facilitate” and L.J. doing what he does are two different things to May. Over the course of the season, Cason’s development will be central to how well the Wolverines’ offense can run without their lead guard.

Exhibition games are for trying things out, and between the Bearcats and a matchup with St. John’s this Saturday, Michigan has given itself opportunities to see what works and what doesn’t in the backcourt. Lendeborg and Gayle, as well as graduate guard Nimari Burnett and freshman guard Trey McKenney, all got their chances to try and run the offense against Cincinnati.

But none matched Cadeau’s efficiency, eye for passing lanes and knack for keeping the ball out of harm’s way. As the regular season draws closer, the dip in offensive production without Cadeau is a worry for the Wolverines.

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