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NEW ORLEANS – Caleb Love watches himself at night after games, even when he doesn’t play well.
Sitting in his pad, or laying in bed, Love travels through his phone around the world of social media looking at what he did in his game that day – the positive and negative – and the reactions by others to his efforts.
The good stuff stands out, obviously, but he doesn’t ignore the not-so-good stuff. You can’t shake Love, which is why he’s fine looking at the full scope. The key here is that he does seek out what people are saying and what he looks like making big shots.
Take his huge three-pointer over the out-stretched arms of 7-foot-1 Duke center Mark Williams on Saturday night that gave North Carolina a four-point lead with 25 seconds remaining in a game it eventually won earning a spot in the national championship Monday night versus Kansas.
“Yeah, for sure, all the time,” Love said Sunday during national title game media day at the Superdome. “I probably beat myself up harder than anybody else. I’m upset with myself with the four turnovers because they are crucial in the game.
“I always look at film to see if I can get better, what areas I can get better at, and try not to make them the next game. As far as the shot, it’s a thing that I am used to. Now that we are late in the season, we only have one more game left, and I am built for that moment.”
The Tar Heels have made no bones about the fuel they have gained from negative comments about them this season, and Love is no different. But it isn’t just about him.
When immersed in the game, Love doesn’t always see how his teammates and family react to what transpires on the floor. These days, clips of celebrations on the court and in the stands are as popular as thunderous dunks and step-back threes. Love wants to see those things.
“Yeah, for sure,” said Love, who had 28 points versus the Blue Devils. “I do like looking at the replay to see the reactions and stuff like that. To see how my teammates were so excited and seeing my parents in the background. They were excited to see me and to make that play was amazing.”
In looking at various angles – both still and moving images – of his shot over Williams, one that surely will go down in the annals of Carolina basketball’s immense lore, Love saw something that will live on forever at UNC.
He is the Tar Heel who has been beaten on the most by the fans this season. Even as recently as the first half of the Sweet 16 win over UCLA, some fans on Twitter called him, “trash” and “garbage” and other things not suited for print. In a humorous twist, and reminder of the true mindset of a diehard fan, which is short for fanatical, one of those fans later that night expressed their undying love for Love.
Of course, he scored 27 points in the second half versus the Bruins leading the Tar Heels into the Elite Eight.
That was a big stage and each bucket was badly needed by his team. The same goes for Saturday night in the biggest game ever played between the Tar Heels and Blue Devils. And when Carolina needed a shot maker to make a shot, Love obliged.
“One of the many things I love about Caleb is he wants to be on the biggest stage,” UNC Coach Hubert Davis said Sunday. “And, so I've been a part of a number of, in terms of the atmosphere, big-time atmospheres as a player and as a coach. Last night it was right there. And that's where Caleb wants to be.”
It was huge and will find a comfortable spot among some other historic Carolina connections: Walter Davis versus Duke in 1974; Marcus Paige in 2016; and Luke Maye in 2017, just to name a few.
Caleb Love in 2022 will be there, too, regardless of what happens Monday night. And no doubt there will be nights into the future when he will be sitting around or working to doze off, and finding a clip or image of that shot will be as easy as pie.
