Thanks to his heroics in the 2022 NCAA Tournament, Caleb Love will always have a special place in the hearts of UNC basketball fans.
Love drained the Final Four shot to send Duke’s legendary Coach K into retirement – and advance North Carolina to the National Championship against Kansas. Love transferred to Arizona after that legendary run with the Tar Heels, leading the Wildcats to consecutive Sweet 16 appearances.
Now an emerging starter on the Portland Trail Blazers, Love is fresh off arguably his best game as a pro.
On Friday night in Portland’s 127-123 win over the dynastic Golden State Warriors, Love exploded for a career-high 26 points and five assists, while also tying his career-best with seven rebounds. Portland (7-9), which snapped a 4-game losing streak with its victory, maintains its positioning amongst the 7-10 seeds in the Western Conference. This means that if the season ends today, Love and his Trail Blazer teammates are in the NBA Postseason.
Love debuted at UNC in the 2020-21 season, which coincided with Roy Williams’ final year coaching college basketball. There was some debate about Love staying when Hubert Davis took over as head coach, but his decision to do so helped the Tar Heels to a legendary run.
People initially thought Love transferred out west because of rumored friction between him and RJ Davis, but that was later confirmed to be untrue. Love arguably played better basketball for Tommy Lloyd’s Wildcats, but how would his career change – if any – by staying at North Carolina?
