Caleb Khristopher Love (born September 27, 2001) is an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels (also Carolina Tar Heels) are the college sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to ...

and the

Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...

High school career

Love attended

Christian Brothers College High School Christian Brothers College High School (CBC High School) is a Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, Lasallian Catholic Church, Catholic University-preparatory school, college preparatory school for young men in Town and Country, M ...

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, 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. 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. 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. He was named

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American multinational fast food chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese chain Mixue Ice Cream & Tea. Brothers ...

, becoming the second player from Christian Brothers to be so honored after Larry Hughes in 1997.

Recruiting

Love was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2020 class, according to major recruiting services. He committed to playing college basketball for

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

on October 1, 2019, choosing the Tar Heels over

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

and

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, among others. Love was attracted to North Carolina because of coach Roy Williams and the opportunity to play lead guard.

College career

North Carolina

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 The College of Charleston (CofC or Charleston) is a public university in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, it is the oldest university in South Carolina, the 13th-oldest institution of higher lea ...

. On January 20, 2021, Love scored 20 points in an 80–73 win over Wake Forest. On January 25, 2021, Love was named ACC Freshman of the week. On February 6, 2021, Love scored a then career-high 25 points and 7 assist in a 91–87 victory over rival

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

. On February 8, 2021, Love earned his second

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

(ACC) Freshman of the week honor. He was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team after averaging 10.5 points and 3.5 assists per game. Following the season, longtime Tar Heel head coach Roy Williams retired. After deliberating, Love decided to return to Chapel Hill for his sophomore season.

Sophomore

In head coach

Hubert Davis Hubert Ira Davis Jr. (born May 17, 1970) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball, North Carolina Tar Heels men's team. Before his coaching care ...

' 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 then career-high 30 points in the second half of a 73–66 win over fourth-seeded

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

in the Sweet Sixteen. In the following

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

matchup with the

Duke Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the N ...

, Love scored 28 points, including a late three-point shot seen as pivotal in the Tar Heels' 81–77 victory. In the Finals, he rolled his ankle and was shooting poorly, but still had a chance to tie the game despite

coming back in the second half. He air-balled a closely guarded step-back three-pointer, and UNC lost the title. He finished the game with 13 points on 5-of-24 shooting.

Junior

After the late-season success of the prior season, Love, Black, 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 consists of all seniors on the team). The Tar Heels stumbled to a 20–13 record in Hubert Davis's 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). Following the season, Love entered the transfer portal, announcing his intentions to play elsewhere in his senior year.

Arizona

Senior

After much speculation, Love originally committed to play his senior season at

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. However, just over a month after committing to Michigan, Love decommitted from the Wolverines and headed back into transfer portal, reportedly due to an issue with transfer credits. He announced his commitment to the

via social media on May 30, 2023. Love made his Wildcat debut on November 6, 2023, scoring 12 points and dishing out four assists in a 122–59 victory over Morgan State. Love made his return to

Cameron Indoor Stadium Cameron Indoor Stadium is an indoor arena located on the campus of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. The 9,314-seat facility is the primary indoor athletic venue for the Duke Blue Devils and serves as the home court for Duke Duke Blue ...

on November 10 and beat No. 2 Duke 78–73, snapping their 17-game home winning streak. On December 16, Love had a game-high 29 points and six rebounds in a 92–84 loss to No. 3

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

, marking Arizona's first loss of the season. On January 6 against

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, Love had 23 points, six rebounds, and six assists on 60% from the field in a 92–73 victory. The next game against

Washington State Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

, Love finished with 28 points and eight rebounds in a tight 73–70 road loss. On January 27, Love went 12-for-18 from the field and scored a career-high 36 points in a 87–78 road victory against

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. His 36 points tied the single-game scoring record at Matthew Knight Arena. On February 8, Love recorded his first career double-double in a triple overtime road victory against Utah, finishing with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Against

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

on February 24, Love poured in 28 points and reached 2,000 collegiate points in a 91–75 win. On March 12, 2024, Love was awarded the Pac-12 Player of the Year Award and became the tenth Arizona Wildcat to win the award. Love averaged a team-high 18.7 points on 43% from the field and 35.2% from three-point range. He added 4.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.2 steals in 32.2 minutes played. He helped Arizona earn the No. 2 seed in the West region of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. They advanced to the Sweet 16, where they lost to No. 6 Clemson 77–72, with Love missing all nine of his three-point attempts.

Graduate

Love announced via his social media accounts on May 29, 2024, that he would withdraw from the

2024 NBA Draft The 2024 NBA draft was the 78th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft. Unlike recent years, the 2024 draft took place over two nights. This was the first NBA draft to be held on multiple nights since the draft ...

and return to Arizona for his graduate season.

Career statistics

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2020–21 , style="text-align:left;",

, 29 , , 26 , , 27.7 , , .316 , , .266 , , .808 , , 2.6 , , 3.6 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , 10.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , style="text-align:left;",

, 39 , , 38 , , 34.2 , , .371 , , .360 , , .863 , , 3.4 , , 3.6 , , .9 , , .3 , , 15.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2022–23 , style="text-align:left;",

, 33 , , 32 , , 35.7 , , .378 , , .299 , , .765 , , 3.7 , , 2.8 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , 16.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2023–24 , style="text-align:left;",

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, 36 , , 36 , , 32.3 , , .413 , , .332 , , .839 , , 4.8 , , 3.4 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , 18.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2024–25 , style="text-align:left;",

, 37 , , 37 , , 34.1 , , .398 , , .340 , , .889 , , 4.4 , , 3.4 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , 17.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 174 , , 169 , , 33.0 , , .380 , , .326 , , .835 , , 3.8 , , 3.4 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , 15.9

References

External links

Arizona Wildcats bioNorth Carolina Tar Heels bioUSA Basketball bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Love, Caleb 2001 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Arizona Wildcats men's basketball players Basketball players from St. Louis McDonald's High School All-Americans North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball players Point guards Shooting guards 21st-century American sportsmen