Caleb Love

Caleb Khristopher Love (born September 27, 2001) is an American college basketball player for the Arizona Wildcats of the Pac-12 Conference. He spent his first three seasons at North Carolina, where he was a starter and key piece of the team's 2022 Final Four run.

Caleb Love
Love with UNC in 2021
No. 2 – Arizona Wildcats
PositionPoint guard / shooting guard
ConferencePac-12 Conference
Personal information
Born (2001-09-27) September 27, 2001
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High schoolChristian Brothers College
(St. Louis, Missouri)
College
Career highlights and awards

High school career

Love attended Christian Brothers College High School in St. Louis, Missouri, and was coached by Justin Tatum, father of NBA player Jayson Tatum. He averaged 18.9 points and 4.3 rebounds per game as a junior as he transitioned to point guard.[1] He led the school to the Class 5 runner-up to Rock Bridge High School. Love scored a career-high 42 points against East St. Louis High School as a senior and also scored 40 points against Cardinal Ritter High School.[2] As a senior, he averaged 26.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.6 steals per game and led the team to the Class 5 Final Four. Love was named Mr. Show-Me Basketball and Gatorade Player of the Year in Missouri.[3] He was named McDonald's All-American, becoming the second player from Christian Brothers to be so honored after Larry Hughes in 1997.[4]

Recruiting

Love was ranked the No. 2 point guard and No. 7 player overall in the class of 2020 by 247Sports. He committed to playing college basketball for North Carolina on October 1, 2019, choosing the Tar Heels over Missouri, Louisville and Kansas, among others.[5] Love was attracted to North Carolina because of coach Roy Williams and the opportunity to play lead guard.[6]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Caleb Love
PG		 St. Louis, MO Christian Brothers College (MO) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Oct 1, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports:5/5 stars    ESPN:5/5 stars   ESPN grade: 94
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 17  247Sports: 7  ESPN: 18
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "North Carolina 2020 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  • "2020 North Carolina Tar Heels Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  • "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 23, 2020.

College career

Freshman

In his college debut, Love led all scorers with 17 points and posted four assists and two steals in a 79–60 win over the College of Charleston.[7] On January 20, 2021, Love scored 20 points in a 80–73 win over Wake Forest.[8] On January 25, 2021, Love was named ACC Freshman of the week.[9] On February 6, 2021, Love scored a career-high 25 points and 7 assist in a 91–87 victory over rival Duke.[10] On February 8, 2021, Love earned his second Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Freshman of the week honor.[11] He was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team after averaging 10.5 points and 3.5 assists per game.[12] Following the season, longtime Tar Heel head coach Roy Williams retired. After deliberating, Love decided to return to Chapel Hill for his sophomore season. He averaged 10.5 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 3.6 assists in his freshman season.

Sophomore

In head coach Hubert Davis' first season in charge after the retirement of Williams, Love was a key piece of a starting lineup that became known as the "Iron Five." The lineup included himself, R. J. Davis, Leaky Black, Oklahoma transfer Brady Manek, and Armando Bacot. In what began as an up-and-down season for both Love and the rest of the team, the "Iron Five" became crucial to the team's success down the stretch in their run to the National Championship game. In total on the season, Love set career highs in three point field goal percentage, games played, and starts, starting all but one of the 39 games played that season. He averaged 15.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game on the season, averaging 37.1% from the floor and 36% from beyond the three-point line.

In the 2022 NCAA tournament, Love scored 27 of his career-high 30 points in the second half of a 73–66 win over fourth-seeded UCLA in the Sweet Sixteen.[13] In the following Final Four matchup with the Duke Blue Devils, Love scored 28 points, including a late three-point shot seen as pivotal in the Tar Heels' 81–77 victory.[14][15][16] In the Finals, he rolled his ankle and was shooting poorly, but still had a chance to tie the game despite Kansas coming back in the second half.[17] He missed a closely guarded step-back three-pointer, and UNC lost the title.[17] He finished the game with 13 points on 5-of-24 shooting.[18]

Junior

After the late-season success of the season prior, Love, Black, R.J. Davis, and Bacot all decided to return for the 2022-23 season. Despite a pre-season No.1 ranking and massive expectations, the season went awry quickly for Love and his teammates. Still, Love was a key piece of the starting lineup, and started 32 of the 33 games the team played (his lone appearance off the bench came on UNC's senior night, where tradition dictates that the starting lineup consist of all seniors on the team). The Tar Heels stumbled to a 20–13 record in Hubert Davis' second season. Love, despite shooting worse from the foul line and three-point line in his junior season, set new career highs in overall field-goal percentage (37.8%), points per game (16.7), and rebounds per game (3.7).[19]

Following the season, Love entered the transfer portal, announcing his intentions to play elsewhere his senior year.[20]

Senior

After much speculation, Love originally committed to play his senior season at Michigan.[21] However, just over a month later after committing to Michigan, Love decommitted from the Wolverines and headed back into transfer portal, reportedly due to an issue with transfer credits.[22] He announced his commitment to the Arizona Wildcats via social media on May 30, 2023. [23]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2020–21 North Carolina 292527.7.316.266.8082.63.61.2.310.5
2021–22 North Carolina 393834.2.371.360.8633.43.6.9.215.9
2022–23 North Carolina 333235.8.378.299.7653.72.81.1.216.7
Career 1019532.8.360.317.8153.33.31.0.314.6

References
  1. Dopirak, Dustin (May 14, 2019). "For Caleb Love, transitioning to point guard means becoming the 'alpha male'". The Athletic. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  2. Kvidahl, David (March 29, 2020). "All-Metro boys basketball player of the year: Love's prestigious CBC career cut short by coronavirus pandemic". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  3. Miller, Corey (March 26, 2020). "CBC's Caleb Love named Mr. Show-Me Basketball and Gatorade Player of the Year in Missouri". KSDK. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  4. Kvidahl, David (January 24, 2020). "CBC's Love named to McDonald's All-American team". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  5. Wilkerson-New, Brant (October 1, 2019). "2020 PG Caleb Love commits to Carolina". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  6. Boone, Kyle (October 1, 2019). "College basketball recruiting: Five-star point guard Caleb Love commits to UNC". CBS Sports. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  7. Palermo, Gregg (November 25, 2020). "CBC grad Caleb Love leads all scorers in North Carolina debut". Fox 2 Now. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  8. "Love, Bacot help North Carolina beat Wake Forest 80–73". ESPN.com. Associated Press. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  9. "Champagnie, Love Pick Up ACC Men's Basketball Weekly Honors". Atlantic Coast Conference. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  10. "Love's career-high 25 helps North Carolina edge Duke 91–87". ESPN.com. Associated Press. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  11. "UVA's Hsuser, UNC's Love Claim Men's Basketball Weekly Honors". Atlantic Coast Conference. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  12. McMillan, Sherrell (March 26, 2021). "Caleb Love Returning to UNC". 247 Sports. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
  13. Pells, Eddie (March 25, 2022). "If the shoe fits: Love leads Carolina over UCLA into Elite 8". Associated Press. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  14. "Caleb Love drops 28 as UNC takes down Duke in Final Four | NCAA.com". NCAA.com. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  15. Pearson, Zack. "Caleb Love's late three pointer helps lift UNC past Duke". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  16. Borzello, Jeff (3 April 2022). "UNC hangs on, closes Coach K's career in classic". ESPN. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  17. Thamel, Pete (2022-04-05). "Injuries, vomit, shaky floorboards and a painful loss: The cascading calamities of North Carolina's second half". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
  18. Hughes, Grant (April 6, 2022). "Expert Analysis: Dealing With Defeat, Tar Heel Toughness, Puff Johnson". InsideCarolina.com. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
  19. "Caleb Love Stats". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  20. Smith, Adam (March 27, 2023). "BREAKING: Caleb Love Leaving UNC, Entering Transfer Portal". InsideCarolina.com. 247 Sports. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  21. Borzello, Jeff (April 7, 2023). "Former North Carolina guard Caleb Love transferring to Michigan". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  22. Rapp, Timothy (May 17, 2023). "Report: Caleb Love Won't Transfer to Michigan; UNC Return Not on the Table". bleacherreport.com. Bleacherreport. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  23. Walsh, Erin (May 30, 2023). "Former UNC Star Caleb Love Transfers to Arizona After Decommitting from Michigan". bleacherreport.com. Bleacher Report. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
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