Tag: Caleb Love

Twitter reacts to Caleb Love committing to Arizona

Twitter reacts to Caleb Love leaving the transfer portal to play for the Arizona Wildcats.

The [autotag]Caleb Love[/autotag] saga is officially over. The former Tar Heel announced his decision to join the Arizona Wildcats.

This college basketball offseason has been one to remember, with the transfer portal bringing and spitting out significant talent. One of the bigger shocks to enter the transfer portal was Love; many fans thought it would be another year at UNC or NBA bound.

Love caught major attention in the portal before announcing he would be Wolverine. Well, that lasted as long as the night before Christmas, with Love hitting the portal for a second time due to rumored admission issues.

Many thought that meant Love would be a lock for Missouri, his home state, or Indiana, which had shown interest in the star guard the first time in the portal. No one expected Love to lace up for Arizona, which elicited quite the reaction when he announced the next stop on his journey.

There’s no denying Love is an elite guard who can flip the switch in an instant. However, the move to Arizona is an intriguing play.

Let’s look at how Twitter reacted to Love joining the Wildcats.

Analysis: Caleb Love can be great, but he rarely was at North Carolina

When Caleb Love plays his best, he’s awesome, but his highs don’t last long. The big worry for USC: Tommy Lloyd’s ability to develop players at Arizona.

Caleb Love can be a phenomenal basketball player. UCLA found out when Love shot the Bruins out of the 2022 NCAA Tournament.

Once in a great while, Love goes into flamethrower mode. When that happens, he and his team are unbeatable. However, those moments are rare, not constant.

Love, who transferred to Arizona on Tuesday, is a career 31.7-percent 3-point shooter. He has never shot better than 38 percent from the field in a college basketball season.

Love, compared to other players in the college basketball transfer portal, was not the best of the best. His arrival in Tucson doesn’t instantly cause USC to worry about its place in the Pac-12. The Trojans and Wildcats are likely to be the top two teams in the conference. This move doesn’t immediately change the equation, because Love is not a proven, dependable shooter. He had that one great March run for North Carolina a year ago, but he hasn’t been relentlessly excellent. If Love remains inconsistent, Arizona will not rise to a higher level in the 2023-2024 season.

Here’s where USC will worry: If it sees, early in the season, that Tommy Lloyd can polish Love’s game and maximize the guard’s talents. Then he’ll become a headache, and Arizona will become a much better team.

In other words, USC shouldn’t immediately worry about what Caleb Love brings to the table; it should worry about what Tommy Lloyd can do to improve Caleb Love at Arizona.

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North Carolina transfer Caleb Love flips to Pac-12 school

The Arizona Wildcats landed one of the top players in the transfer portal on Tuesday.

North Carolina transfer guard Caleb Love has ended his recruitment, for a second time.

On Tuesday, the 6-foot-4 guard committed to the Arizona Wildcats, the second commitment of his recruitment this offseason. Prior to committing to the Wildcats, Love committed to the Michigan Wolverines earlier this offseason but quickly changed the course of direction and entered the portal once again.

Now, he’s found his home in Tucson, making his announcement on Twitter.

Love this past season for the Tar Heels averaged 16.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game while playing 35.8 minutes per night. He also shot a career-high 37.8% from the field. His strong season also saw him score 20+ points in 11 games last season including a 34-point, nine rebounds, four assists, and three steal performances against Alabama in late November.

The Wildcats are coming off a 28-7 season which included a 14-6 record in Pac-12 conference play. The Wildcats would earn a No.2 seed in the south region of the NCAA Tournament but were upset by No.15 Princeton in the first round. So far in both of their seasons under head coach Tommy Lloyd, the Wildcats have made the NCAA Tournament after missing it in their last two seasons under head coach Sean Miller, not counting the 2020-2021 season.

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Caleb Love has done something great for USC basketball, but now he becomes a Trojan foe

Caleb Love played a great game to knock UCLA out of the 2022 NCAA Tournament. If Love didn’t shine, UCLA might have made consecutive Final Fours.

Caleb Love has never scored a point for USC on a basketball court. He never helped USC make a Final Four. However, he did something Trojan fans can definitely appreciate: He prevented UCLA from making the Final Four.

Recall what happened in the Sweet 16 round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Tar Heels Wire recalled what Love did in the East Regional semifinal against UCLA in Philadelphia:

“In a fast-paced game that went back and forth for most of it, UNC prevailed late backed by a big second half from Caleb Love. The guard scored 27 of his 30 points in the second half to help UNC grab a lead late and not look back.

“Love drained a 3 with 1:06 left in the game to give UNC a 67-64 lead and then made two key free throws late to extend the lead to 71-66 and eventually sealed the deal for the Tar Heels. The win is huge for UNC as they are now one game away from the Final Four.”

Imagine how much more of a juggernaut — and how much more of a headache for USC — the Bruins would have become if they made the 2022 Final Four. UCLA, had it beaten North Carolina on that night, would have faced 15th-seeded Saint Peter’s in the Elite Eight, a near-guaranteed ticket to the Final Four. UCLA would have made back-to-back Final Fours after getting to the big show in 2021. If UCLA had made consecutive Final Fours, maybe USC doesn’t land Isaiah Collier. Maybe Boogie Ellis doesn’t stay. Maybe Bronny James doesn’t come here. We don’t know for sure, but it definitely helped USC for UCLA to not continue to rise in the college basketball world.

Now at Arizona with the Wildcats, Caleb Love will be a USC opponent. However, Trojan fans can be grateful that Love knows how to beat UCLA. He has already done so when it really mattered.

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Former North Carolina guard Caleb Love transfers to Arizona

.@TarHeelsWire has the story: Caleb Love, who previously transferred to Michigan in a move which fell through, has chosen Arizona in the portal.

The college basketball transfer portal produced a headline-grabbing development on Tuesday. Caleb Love, the former North Carolina guard who helped the Tar Heels reach the 2022 national championship game, wanted to transfer to Michigan, but that arrangement collapsed due to academic complications. His Plan B: Arizona. Love will go to Tucson and play for Tommy Lloyd as a Wildcat.

Tar Heels Wire has more:

“After leaving North Carolina following his junior year, Love committed to Michigan before decommitting a month later. Now, he’s heading out to the Pac-12.

“Love committed to Arizona on Tuesday, ending his second recruitment in the transfer portal.

“The Wildcats were one of three programs recently mentioned by 247Sports insider Eric Bossi along with Texas and Gonzaga. But in the end, Love found his fit with the Wildcats and will come in right away and start for Tommy Lloyd’s team.”

We will have analysis of this story and more at Trojans Wire, as we compare the Arizona and USC rosters heading into one of the most anticipated basketball seasons in the history of Trojan hoops.

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Top transfer target Caleb Love picks Arizona over Texas, Gonzaga

The former North Carolina star is taking his talents to the Pac-12 to play for Arizona next season.

The Caleb Love transfer saga has seemingly come to an end. Continue reading “Top transfer target Caleb Love picks Arizona over Texas, Gonzaga”

Former UNC guard Caleb Love commits to Arizona

Former UNC basketball guard Caleb Love has committed to Arizona out of the transfer portal.

Former North Carolina guard Caleb Love has a new home for the upcoming year. After leaving North Carolina following his junior year, Love committed to Michigan before decommitting a month later. Now, he’s heading out to the Pac-12.

Love committed to Arizona on Tuesday, ending his second recruitment in the transfer portal.

The Wildcats were one of three programs recently mentioned by 247Sports insider Eric Bossi along with Texas and Gonzaga. But in the end, Love found his fit with the Wildcats and will come in right away and start for Tommy Lloyd’s team.

Love spent three years at North Carolina and had his best season as a junior for the Tar Heels. He averaged 16.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.

He earned an honorable All-ACC mention in his final two seasons. As a sophomore, Love helped lead the Tar Heels to the Final Four and hit a crucial shot down the stretch to beat Duke in the national semifinal.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

Recruitment for former UNC basketball guard still a mystery

The recruitment for former UNC basketball guard Caleb Love is still a ‘mystery’ as he’s in the transfer portal again.

Former North Carolina guard Caleb Love opted to leave the program after three years in Chapel Hill. Love eventually committed to Michigan but then decommitted just a month later, reopening his recruitment.

Now, with it being a dead period for recruiting and Love back in the portal, it’s tough to tell where things stand with him. Earlier in the week, Eric Bossi of 247Sports listed Arizona, Gonzaga and Texas as teams showing interest in the former five-star recruit.

However, Love’s recruitment remains a mystery according to another analyst.

Carter Bahns of 247Sports wrote on Love’s recruitment, and he included this bit from Bossi:

“This is an interesting case because Love is a deal that when he went to the portal the first time and selected Michigan, he was completely quiet,” Bossi said. “Schools around him were completely quiet about his recruitment. And that was at the request of Caleb and his family. And that same request has been made again, so if you’re recruiting Caleb Love and you want to find a way to shoot yourself in the foot real quick, go ahead and start leaking out information about how good you’re doing with him – which is normally how we get some stuff. … For right now, it’s a little bit of a mystery, and that is exactly how Caleb Love and his family want it.”

Love is among the top players left in the transfer portal and should see more interest from programs as they continue to put together their rosters.

But for now, it doesn’t sound like there’s a clear favorite.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

Three more programs connected to former UNC guard Caleb Love

Three more programs are showing interest in former UNC basketball guard Caleb Love.

Former North Carolina Tar Heels’ guard Caleb Love reopened his recruitment last week after decommitting from Michigan. The guard is one of the top players left in the transfer portal but with it being a recruiting dead period, he cannot take any visits.

That hasn’t stopped the interest from coming in for Love.

Eric Bossi of 247Sports wrote on Love’s status and three more teams that are showing interest in the talented guard: Arizona, Gonzaga and Texas. All have needs for a guard ahead of this 2023-24 college basketball season.

Texas seems to have been involved the longest while Arizona was right on its heels. Gonzaga emerged a bit over the course of the weekend.

From the sounds of it, the race between those programs is a pretty tight one but the decision could be coming in the near future. The word is that Love would like to be on campus for the start of any summer workouts. As for visits, there has still been no word about anything being set or if he will even need to take them before making a decision.

It’s not shocking to see Love draw interest from big-time programs in the transfer portal. And it sounds like he will have a big decision to make in the coming weeks.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

Texas basketball linked with North Carolina transfer Caleb Love

Texas is heavily in the mix for the former North Carolina star.

After entering his name into the transfer portal following three very impressive seasons at basketball powerhouse North Carolina, Caleb Love thought he had found his new home at Michigan.

However, according to ESPN there were admission issues in relation to his credits transferring over from North Carolina. The No. 16 player in 247Sports’ transfer portal rankings is now back on the market and the Longhorns have been making a major push. The report cites that since Love backed off his Michigan pledge, he has been hearing the most from three schools: Arizona, Gonzaga, and Texas.

The Longhorns have already landed a splash transfer in Oral Roberts’ Max Abmas who ranks as the No. 9 player in the portal, but Rodney Terry will have to make up for the loss of Marcus Carr. Travis Branham broke down why the Longhorns could be a good fit for the former five-star and ACC All-Freshman.

“Rodney Terry is having to rebuild his roster after his outstanding run last season. He’s had two major developments with the return of Tyrese Hunter and addition of Max Abmas. That’s a lot of volume already to share between those two. As a result, adding Love could make for some interesting basketball to watch, though it’s not the cleanest meshing of personnel.”

In three seasons in Chapel Hill, Love played in 101 games while starting 96. He has averaged nearly 15 points per game, over three assists per game, and three rebounds per game while shooting 31% from behind the arc. This past season was his best individual season, as he was averaging nearly 17 points per game on a career high 37.8% shooting from the field.

If the Longhorns were to land Love he would mark the fifth transfer addition of the offseason, and would immediately contend for a starting role.

A decision for where he will land is expected to be coming soon, as there is a belief that Love wants to be on campus for the start of summer workouts.