Perhaps the final piece of  UNC men’s basketball’s 2022-23 roster has fallen into place — after days of anticipation.

Carolina sophomore guard Caleb Love announced on Sunday he would be returning to school for his junior season, becoming the fourth UNC starter from this past season to do so. Love had a deadline of 11:59 p.m. on Sunday to enter his name into consideration for the NBA Draft process. Instead, he shared he’s back.

Love averaged 15.9 points per game as a sophomore this past season for UNC, an improvement of more than five points from his freshman average. Love’s free throw shooting, three-point shooting and rebounding each also improved from 2021 to 2022.

“Caleb’s passion for this team and program are what motivates and drives him to win a national championship and eventually have a long, successful career in the NBA,” Head Coach Hubert Davis said about Love’s return. “Nobody is better at taking and making big shots in pressure situations. He’s one of the most gifted players I’ve ever been around and I’m extremely excited to coach him another season.”

The Carolina program is bringing back the other member of its starting backcourt from last season: sophomore R.J. Davis. Davis shared a video on social media Saturday afternoon announcing his plans to “run it back” with the Tar Heels for the 2022-23 season. Junior Armando Bacot and senior Leaky Black also announced their intentions to return to Carolina for another shot at playing for a national championship.

Love’s return means the Tar Heels have no other open scholarship spots to offer. The departures of graduate student Brady Manek and Ryan MacAdoo, as well as transfers Anthony Harris and Dawson Garcia, left the right amount of scholarships to welcome in UNC’s 2022 recruiting class. That means, barring any other surprise transfers ahead of a May 1 deadline, Carolina’s roster is now set.

The Tar Heels fell short in the title game against Kansas on Monday, April 4, after a torrid run through the NCAA Tournament. Love had several performance integral to Carolina’s success, including 28 points and a go-ahead three-pointer against Duke in the Final Four.

 

Featured image via Todd Melet

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