Caleb Love on UNC, "After My Visit, I Knew I Wanted to be There"
The relationship of family is essential to a school such as UNC. Coach Mack Brown and Roy Williams have all stressed the importance of not just taking kids based on talent but their want for more than just playing time; Coach Mack calls it a "40-year commitment". On both ends of the sidelines, you can see former players backing their coaches into war, Dre Bly, Sean May, Kevin Donnalley, and Kendall Marshall are just a few of the players who returned to where it all started. Their willingness to come back to their programs showcases the commitment and dedication that is given when they agreed to wear Carolina Blue.
Caleb Love is worth the hype he receives, and it's not just because of his playing ability but the discipline and dedication he put into getting there. Love is a 5-star prospect and rated as the top 4 point guard in the country; a position he was perfecting two summers ago. His evaluation on 247Sports identifies Love as a shoot-first point guard,
"At nearly 6-foot-3 with pretty good length, Love can play either guard spot and shows significant potential on the defensive end. A score-first point guard, he has the ability to put his team on his back as a bucket getter, or to be a facilitator. Right now, he is more comfortable taking shots than setting up teammates, but his passing has improved and he is doing a better job of running a team. Ultimately, it comes down to Love's ability to run a team at the college level and beyond, but there is no doubt he can score. The requisite athleticism is absolutely there."
Four years ago, Love wasn't on anyone's radar. He was barely out of playing football before he recognized his potential in setting the basketball world on fire. His father, Dennis Love, knew he was going to be a problem when he didn't have to force his son into the gym. Soon, he noticed Love wasn't just going to the gym once but multiple times a week.
"Four years ago, I wasn't highly recruited at all; I wasn't ranked. That's what pretty much pushed me. My parents were just always put in my head to just stay in the gym, so that's all I did. That was the standard, being in the gym, being humble. As my stock grew, I just kept working and staying the course. That's what works."
Growing up in St. Louis, Love is apart of a tight-knit community. He doesn't shy away from any spotlight and recognizes the responsibility he has in growing his community and paying it forward by speaking into kids every chance he gets. Playing in the Wohl Community Center, Love is reminded of the greats that came before every time he walks by the trophy case, Jayson Tatum, Bradley Beal, and Larry Hughes; all great men he looks forward in making proud.
"It's just a drive. Staying in the lab and not worried about nothing else. Parents and coaches staying my ear; I want to be the best player I can be. When you've been slept on, you got a different mindset, and you have a chip on your shoulder. That's what I play with every time I step out on to the court, whether I'm slept on or not, I just play with a chip on my shoulder, wanting to get a win."
When it came to making a decision, Love thought outside of himself. He knew that this decision didn't just impact him but also his commitment to his high school team, Christian Brothers College. Love announced to attend UNC before the start of his senior year. He wanted the decision out the way so he could focus on winning a state championship. Arizona, Indiana, Mizzo, Carolina, Kansas, and Louisville, were his top 6. On a blog he wrote for USA Today, Love knew that Carolina was the choice on his first visit.
"After my visit, I knew that I wanted to be there. I literally loved everything about the visit. The coaches showed nothing but Love to me, the team showed nothing but Love to me, and the culture there is outstanding. Obviously, they have a lot of tradition there, and with Cole (Anthony) leaving after this year, I'll have the chance to step in and be the point guard."
Love highlighted something that stuck out in his blog post, Coach Williams putting Coby White in the position to be a lottery pick,
"I talked to Coby after I went on my visit, and he just told me that coming to North Carolina was one of the best decisions he ever made in his life. He told me that Coach Williams was gonna push me to become the best possible player I can be. He told me Coach Williams would never ever give up on me. After I talked to Coby I was sold! Most people didn't think that Coby would be one-and-done, but he went there, and Coach Williams put him in position and believed in him, and the rest was history."
The excitement for Love is shared by Coach Williams. Next season, Williams has two top 10 point guards entering his program. Alongside Love, RJ Davis will also be attending Carolina. Williams acknowledges the excitement of having two explosive point guards,
"Think Caleb was in the Final Four (in his state tournament) when they stopped play, and he had some great, great games. I went out and saw him a couple of times and I mean he has the whole package. He's a tremendous athlete. He hadn't gotten a chance to strictly play the point guard as much as I wanted him to and probably as much as he wanted to because he was so versatile, and they had some other guys on his high school team that could play. He had a tremendous high school program, a tremendous high school coach, and I'm hoping if he can come in and do as well as those other two guys, then that'd be good. R.J. (Davis) can handle the ball or play off the ball, too, so I think those two will really help us out in the backcourt."
Love is an example of "hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard." Carolina got a dawg, and hopefully, Williams lets him off the leash.
