Caleb Love is about to begin a new chapter. After playing the first three years of his college career at North Carolina, Love will now be a focal point in Arizona’s backcourt. I caught up with Love on Wednesday in Tucson to discuss his decision to come to Arizona, what went wrong with the Tar Heels, and much more.
Jon Rothstein: What do you think your reaction would have been a year ago if someone told you that you’d be playing at Arizona during the 2023-24 season?
Caleb Love: I probably would just look at them like they were crazy (laughs). I’m just grateful to be here. These guys and the coaches have just taken me in as one of their own and accepted me as soon I got down here.
Rothstein: You initially committed to Michigan as a transfer during the offseason. When that didn’t work out, what attracted you to Arizona?
Love: The style of play. They play fast. The spacing is great. There’s all-around players here. You’ve got Pelle (Larsson) on the wing. You’ve got Keshad (Johnson). You’ve got Kylan Boswell and you’ve got a point guard in Jaden Bradley. We’ve got amazing bigs here too — Oumar (Ballo) and Motiejus Krivas — I could go on down the list. But style of play and the culture that Coach (Tommy) Lloyd is building here is second to none. The team chemistry and the camaraderie is amazing and I feel like it’s the right spot for me.
Rothstein: Why don’t you think things worked out as you hoped they would last season at North Carolina after you came so close to winning the national title the year before in 2022?
Love: I think we got complacent. We went to the national title game and we came back and I don’t think that the drive was really there across the board. It wasn’t just one player or one coach — across the board we weren’t as connected as we needed to be. I feel like throughout the season that we tried to do certain things to get on track. We had a four-game losing streak early in the season and we tried to make a few changes after that stretch and unfortunately, we were never able to truly figure it out. I think everything happens for a reason. My time there just came to an end.
Rothstein: When you play at a place like North Carolina, every single possession is dissected. You in particular were heavily criticized for your shot selection. How much does that drive you for the upcoming season at Arizona?
Love: I just want to showcase who I am. Not just as a player, but as a person too. I have flaws just like everyone else. Did I take bad shots or make some bad decisions? Yes. I’m human. I definitely could have been better. I don’t blame anybody for that. But coming into this year, I don’t feel like I have to take bad shots within this system. I know the ball is coming back to me. I know that the guys here are going to look for me and I’m going to look for them as well. I’m just looking forward to being myself, being who I am, and coming into my own.
Rothstein: What do you think you’ll be able to showcase at Arizona that you couldn’t showcase previously?
Love: I would say the leader that I am. I’ve been in college three years now and I’ve never really been able to show the leader that I am because Coach (Hubert) Davis made Armando (Bacot) the focal point and the leader of the team. I accepted that, but I feel coming into this group — there’s a lot of younger guys here. I feel like I can teach them some stuff and make sure that our season goes as planned.
