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Last year didn’t exactly go as planned for Caleb Love.
When he committed to play basketball at North Carolina in early October of 2019, the thinking was he’d race up and down the court, raining threes, driving on defenders, dishing to slashers for jams, and igniting nearly 22,000 inside the Dean Smith Center.
The Tar Heels would also win a ton of games and he’d be celebrated and perhaps off to the NBA after running the show for a season.
But it didn’t work out that way.
COVID intervened causing chaos and discomfort for everyone, athletes and non-athletes alike. The typical Carolina experience wasn’t a part of Love’s first year. No battling pros in the summer, fewer-than-usual in-person conversations and film sessions with his Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams, and a disjointed offense that only occasionally looked like how Carolina was designed.
An 18-11 season, first-round exit from the NCAA Tournament, and an up-and-down season by Love didn’t saddle him, though. Instead, it invigorated the St. Louis native, and now that his sophomore season is about to commence, he feels fortified with the necessary goods to perform to his expectations.
“I feel like it’s slowed down a lot, because having that year under my belt I feel like that helped me a lot,” Love said, acknowledging he had a great deal of adjusting to do last season.
“Just sitting down and watching film of all my games and certain shots that I took, certain decisions that I made, I feel like I’ve learned from it I’m gonna take that big leap and have a better season.”
Love finished his freshman campaign averaging 10.5 points, 3.6 assists, and 3.4 turnovers per game. The 6-foot-4 point guard shot just 32.9 percent from the floor, including 26.6 percent from three-point range. Though, after starting the season 4-for-34, Love converted 31.3 percent from beyond the arc. Not a great number, but perhaps more reflective of where his work started from in the offseason.
That and the turnovers and managing the team.
“Careless turnovers dribbling, certain passes I made I feel like were decisions I shouldn’t have made,” Love said, when noting what else he has improved. “But a year under my belt and watching film and being more wise, I feel like that was a big jump that I made overall.”
Love started 26 of UNC’s 29 games, and certainly showed signs of morphing into the role of playmaker as the season went on. In 14 games, he had four or more turnovers, though four came in 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.
But, of his nine games handing out five or more assists, seven came over Carolina’s last 15 contests. Love watched every dish, every miscue, and every shot on film over the offseason. He refined those parts of his game and how he goes about it, too.
There is a reason Hubert Davis chose the sophomore as one of the two player representatives at the ACC Tip Off in Charlotte in mid-October. Usually reserved for older players, especially in a program such as UNC, it was a nod to Love and the role he’s been asked to fill, and has embraced.
To lead a team to something nationally significant, the quarterback must be mature, play with a level head, and regularly trim the fat in his game. That has been Love’s mission since last March, and his teammates say they’ve seen a major difference.
"Definitely just his confidence,” UNC junior forward Armando Bacot said. “He’s got a new and different swagger about him. He is going out there to kick butt all year. He's been really shooting the ball well. He's been limiting his turnovers too."
And as the opener is just around the bend, his new head coach also envisions big things coming from Love. As far as offseasons go, he has checked every box, and Davis believes Love is ready to explode.
“He’s been off the charts, he’s been fantastic,” Davis said. “On both ends of the floor, I really believe that he can be Defensive Player of the Year. His on-ball defense is outstanding. His ability to keep the ball in front of him. And then on the offensive end, now that we have the spacing and balance, with his strength and athleticism, he can get to the cup any time he wants to.
“I think he’s going to lead the league in free throw attempts because he can get to the basket and he can score and get fouled. (And) the thing that he’s improved the most is his passing ability. One of the goals he has set is he wants to lead the ACC in assists, and his ability getting into the lane and create plays for himself, and also for others, is going to put himself in position to reach that goal.”
Hard times can make one stronger, and last year was a challenge for Love. But the payoff is coming on the horizon, he says. Those tough times have allowed Love to grow a few layers on his coat or armor.
“It was just a humbling experience,” he said, referring to last season. “I learned I can get through anything, because even with the struggles that I had, I still made some improvements and still had a good season. I’ve been working on so much in the offseason to have a great season.”
That season is almost here, and Love’s quest for a new-and-improved version of his game will soon be on display.
