UNC Transfer Caleb Loves Commits To Arizona After De-Committing From Michigan
Following a disappointing season in Chapel Hill, North Carolina guard Caleb Love entered the transfer portal and announced Tuesday he's heading to Arizona after initially committing to Michigan. The Tar Heels missed the NCAA Tournament after starting the season as the country's preseason #1.
Part of the reason for the high preseason ranking was the presence of Love. However, the team never gelled like it did in its National Championship runner-up run during March Madness in 2022.
Several UNC players entered the transfer portal, but none more important than Love. Love averaged 16.7 points per game for North Carolina last season.
Love initially committed to Michigan last month, but there was an apparent problem transferring some of his academic credits. That hiccup caused Love to de-commit from Michigan and re-open his recruitment.
Now, he's decided to go out west and join the Arizona Wildcats and head coach Tommy Lloyd.
Arizona hoping North Carolina transfer Caleb Love can help them in the 2024 NCAA Tournament
In Lloyd first season, the Wildcats earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and lost in the Sweet 16. This past year, Arizona received a No. 2 seed. They were a popular pick to make a deep tournament run.
However, they suffered one of the tournament's biggest upsets in a first-round loss to No. 15 Princeton.
Despite the poor ending to the season, Lloyd and the Wildcats aren't having trouble attracting talent to Tucson.
Love joins San Diego State's Keshad Johnson, who helped the Aztecs reach the National Championship, as players to transfer to Arizona who have reached the title game in the past two seasons.
They also added former four-star Alabama recruit, sophomore Jaden Bradley, via the portal. Johnson's Aztecs knocked Bradley's Crimson Tide out of the NCAA Tournament.
Despite earning a #1 or #2 seed in four of the past nine NCAA Tournaments, Arizona hasn't reached the Final Four since 2011.