The Caleb Love era at UNC is over, as the star junior announced Monday afternoon he is entering the transfer portal.

Love shared the news in a lengthy post on social media. The announcement makes Love the sixth Tar Heel — and first starter — to enter the portal since the conclusion of the 2022-23 season. Puff Johnson, Tyler Nickel, Justin McKoy, Will Shaver, and Dontrez Styles are also currently in the portal.

“I’ve taken some time to evaulate what’s best for me to continue to grow as a player and I’ve decided to enter the transfer portal to continue my journey,” wrote Love. “Thank you UNC family and community for embracing a kid from St. Louis. I will love you all forever.”

Love started 32 of 33 games for Carolina this season, only coming off the bench on Senior Night, when Tar Heel seniors traditionally start the game. Though Love averaged a career-high 16.7 points per game, his struggles with three-point shooting were a consistent storyline throughout the year. Love’s percentage dipped from 36 percent as a sophomore to just 29.9 percent as a junior, while his free throw percentage also fell from 86 to 76 percent.

A highly-touted high school recruit out of Missouri, Love arrived on Carolina’s campus as a five-star recruit and the No. 7 overall player in the 2020 class. Joining a UNC team coming off its worst season under head coach Roy Williams, Love immediately joined the starting lineup and started 26 of Carolina’s 29 games that year. He helped lead the Tar Heels back to the NCAA Tournament.

Love elected to stay in Chapel Hill following Williams’ retirement and the hiring of assistant Hubert Davis as head coach. Love improved his shooting numbers across the board and started 38 of 39 games for the Tar Heels, again only sitting on Senior Night. Love’s scoring jumped from 10.5 points per game to 15.9, and Carolina’s memorable run to the national championship against Kansas featured several career-defining moments.

Love scored 22 points and shot 12-12 at the free throw line in the regular-season finale, a 94-81 win at Duke in Blue Devil head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s final home game. But his most noteworthy play wasn’t a basket; rather, Love’s assist to Armando Bacot in the final minutes and his ensuing celebration became a defining image of the game.

In the NCAA Tournament opener against Marquette, Love set a new career high with 23 points on 6-13 shooting from downtown. He then set yet another career high two rounds later against UCLA in the Sweet 16, scoring 30 against the Bruins and once again shooting 6-13 on three-pointers. His final two threes tied the game and then gave Carolina the lead in the waning minutes.

But the image all Tar Heel fans will conjure when they think of Love will be his three-pointer against Duke in the 2022 Final Four with less than a minute remaining. The clutch basket was part of a 28-point performance for Love in the first NCAA Tournament meeting between the Tar Heels and the Blue Devils, and effectively served as the dagger in the 81-77 Carolina victory.

As a rising senior who participated in the 2020-21 season, Love will have two years of eligibility remaining at whichever new school he commits to. His departure leaves R.J. Davis and Armando Bacot as the only returning starters from the 2022-23 team — both of whom have confirmed they are remaining with the program for the 2023-24 season.

 

Featured image via Todd Melet

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