It was clearly an open secret, on the Chapel Hill campus: unlike RJ Davis and Armando Bacot, who announced last week to return for an additional season with the Tar Heels, it was very unlikely that Caleb Love in turn formalizes a return for his “senior” season with North Carolina.
It is therefore no real surprise that this Monday, through their social networksthe 21-year-old leader announced that he was placing his name in the transfer portal, marking a frankly expected departure from Chapel Hill after three seasons.
” My time at UNC was inspiring, on and off the pitch he wrote, then thanking Roy Williams and Hubert Davis for the trust granted throughout the past three years. ” I took time with my family to reassess what was best for me, so I decided to enter the transfer portal to move on. »
We say “frankly expected”, because Caleb Love indeed seemed to have reached the end of the track in Chapel Hill. Like his team, which has greatly disappointed on the collective level, the leader has plateaued this season, after a “sophomore” season which is nevertheless very encouraging. Something was no longer working for him in the Tar Heels scheme, and so it clearly seemed beneficial for everyone to stop there.
A big talent coming out of high school (#14 in the class of 2020), the Missouri native has had some very high highs and some very high lows over the past three seasons, and it’s probably his overly messy shot selection that’s prevented him from being a “first round” in the Draft (36% on shots over his three seasons). Because his intrinsic talent and athletic “combo-guard” profile otherwise ticked all the boxes…
Despite everything, “C-Love” will remain an important player in recent North Carolina history, like his anthology heat stroke during the “run” of the Tar Heels during “March Madness” 2022 (18.8 points), marked in particular by this legendary shot to beat rival Duke in the “Final Four” in the “money-time”.
On the transfer portal, he becomes the biggest name available and will be spoiled for choice for his next destination, as coaches across the country will be scrambling to secure his services.
The first rumors on this subject speak of a return to the fold, in Missouri, but also of the track Texas, where the point guard Marcus Carr completely revived his career these last two years after complicated beginnings in Minnesota. The similarities with the case of Caleb Love are quite obvious here…
His stats at UNC: 14.6 points (36%), 3.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 101 games (95 as a starter).
