CHAPEL HILL – Caleb Love is ready for his sophomore season. In fact, he can’t wait to get going.

The North Carolina point guard met with the media Wednesday afternoon to discuss how his offseason went, elements of his game he worked to improve, having Hubert Davis as the new head coach, the style the Tar Heels will play, and much more.

Love is coming off a season in which he averaged 10.5 points, 3.6 assists, and 2.6 rebounds per contest. Love also averaged 3.4 turnovers per contest, shot 32.9 percent overall from the floor, including 26.6 (34-for-128) from three-point range.

In UNC’s 29 contests, of which Love started 26 times, he converted more than half of his field goal attempts twice and was right at 50 percent in two other games. That means Love converted fewer than 50 percent of his shots in 25 of Carolina’s 29 contests. The ones he did not were UNC victories over Duke twice, Wake, and Louisville.

More numbers: Over UNC’s final eight games, beginning with an 0-for-8 performance in a puzzling home loss to Marquette, Love was just 28-for-94 from the field, which is 29.8 percent. From three-point range in that stretch, he was 13-for-40, which is 32.5 percent. So, Love struggled converting inside the arc more than outside, as he was 15-for-54 shooting inside the three-point circle, which is 27.8 percent.

In addition, he had four or more turnovers in 14 contests, though four came is succession in games three-through-six. The truth, however, is that Love never went more than two consecutive outings without turning it over at least four times.

On the positive side, Love scored in double figures in 16 of Carolina’s 29 games, including in six of UNC’s final seven contests. In fact, he averaged 12.1 points in that span, and while he still struggled converting from the field, his patience running the team and shot selection were better.

And his best games were against Carolina’s fiercest rival. In the first date versus Duke, in which UNC won 91-87 on the road, Love was 9-for-16 from the floor, including 4-for-5 from three-point range, finishing with his personal high of 25 points, seven assists and a steal.

In the second meeting, a lopsided Carolina victory in the Smith Center, Love finished with 18 points on 6-for-12 shooting, including 2-for-6 from three-point range, while also dishing out seven assists. In two games overall versus Duke, Love has scored 43 points and handed out 14 assists while hitting 6-of 11 from the perimeter.

Love made the ACC All-Freshman team.

Below are the full video of Love’s Q&A session as well as the complete transcript from what he had to say:

Q: Could you describe the process of deciding to come back to North Carolina, and what has been the point of emphasis since the decision?

LOVE: “It was no question that I needed to get better, and that I needed to make that jump in my development to get better at my game, so it was no question that I was coming back. What went into that was really just talking to my parents, trying to see who was gonna get the next job. When Coach Davis got hired, it was a no brainer. I knew I was coming back before then, but I just knew when he got the job, there was a clear connection between me and him. It was just working all summer. I’ve just been working on my game, working on what I didn’t do well, and tightening up what I did do well, and just developing my game.”

Q: Could you point to a couple things that you know you’re a lot better at than you were last year?

LOVE: “My shooting and finishing for sure.”

Q: Will the bigger emphasis on spacing within the offense help you better attack the paint?

LOVE: “Yeah, for sure. We got bigs that can stretch the floor now, we got guys that can shoot, so that’s just gonna open everything up for everybody. The lanes are gonna be open, and we’re gonna have a lot more opportunities for everyone to score and create for others.”

Q: Is there one skill that you’ve gained this Summer being on campus that you wished you would’ve been able to gain last summer?

LOVE: “I think just being here, just being here all Summer. Just being with the guys, gelling, and chemistry playing pick-up. I think it’s the pick-up games that have really helped me, learning from the guys that come back. As far as development, I think all the coaches being on the court, and helping us day in and day out, I think that’s been helpful.”

Q: What should we expect from the transfers this season on the court?

LOVE: “Just expect them to play hard. Brady can shoot the lights out, Justin is one of the best competitors that I’ve encountered, Dawson same way. Dawson is just so versatile. He can do so much on the court. We just got guys that compete, so I feel like they’re gonna have a great season.”

Q: How is having consistency in the backcourt, with all the guys returning from last year, going to help win games this year?

LOVE: “I just think experience. Me and RJ got that year under our belt, Kerwin as well. We got a year under our belt, so going forward, we just know how everything is gonna go. It was new to us last year, but we know how the game is gonna go now, we know the game flow, and we know the system. We’re learning Coach Davis’ system now, so I think that experience and that year will help us a lot.”

Q: Who is the toughest guy to guard in the alumni games?

LOVE: “I’d say probably Marcus Paige, or Theo Pinson.”

Q: Can you talk about the mental growth you’ve had over the last year?

LOVE: “I think the hardest thing to do is get your confidence back in yourself. If no one believes in you, you gotta believe in yourself, I feel that from the bottom of my heart. If you lose your confidence, it’s hard to shake back. I kind of did that last year, but this year I’m not gonna let none of that hinder me from my success, or this team’s success. As far as me, just in my mental space, I’m in the best mental space I’ve ever been.”

Q: How did you get from having your confidence shaken from where you are now? What did it take to get there?

LOVE: “Just having a support system, that’s my mom, my dad, some of my best friends, my teammates. Coach Davis is a big piece in that, talking to him every day. The meditation, and the peace, just knowing that I’m here for a reason, and I got here from my hard work, I’m supposed to be here. Just trusting my work, and just playing basketball, playing the game that I love, and having fun.”

Q: How different, yet the same, does it feel having Coach Davis as the head coach now rather than Coach Williams?

LOVE: “It’s a lot of similarities. The system is kinda the same, but it’s kinda different at the same time. They kinda coach alike, but they also have their differences. I feel like it all goes hand-in-hand, and they all want the same goal, they both want the same goal, so I feel like it’s going to be an easy transition.”

Q: With crowds being back after last year, does this feel like a re-do of your Freshman season with your teammates?

LOVE: “Yeah for sure, I just feel like everything happens for a reason. We had to go through certain things to get to a certain point, and I feel like that’s gonna shape us into the players that we’re gonna be this year. Us having that year, that experience, is gonna shape us into better players this year. I feel like everything is gonna work itself out.”

Q: How have you enjoyed being a college student for the first time, after not getting to really experience it last year?

LOVE: “I’m just taking it all in, just enjoying it every step of the way, and enjoying the process. We have just been working all Summer, just looking forward to having a full arena filled out. Just seeing a football game."