Former North Carolina guard Caleb Love committed to Arizona on Tuesday after taking an official visit with the program this weekend, he announced on social media. Love ranked as the No. 17 player in the CBS Sports transfer portal rankings and was one of the top players available in the portal before committing to Tommy Lloyd and the Wildcats.
During his college career at UNC, Love started 96 games and helped the Tar Heels reach the 2022 national championship game before falling to Kansas. The former five-star prospect averaged 14.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists on 36.0% shooting and 31.7% from 3-point range in his career at North Carolina.
"Caleb is a tremendously talented guard who has significant experience playing college basketball at a high level," Lloyd said in a release announcing Love's decision. "We look forward to helping Caleb grow his game at Arizona. And as we near the completion of the roster for the upcoming season, we feel great about how everything has come together. Now it's time for the real work to start."
Early in the offseason, Love committed to Michigan but did not have the adequate amount of transferable credits to easily clear the admissions bar at Michigan, sources told CBS Sports' Matt Norlander. In order for Love to get into Michigan, he would've had to have taken a heavy course load during the spring and summer..
Arizona is coming off a disappointing loss to Princeton in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats were the No. 2 seed in the South Region before being bounced by the No. 15 seed Tigers in one of the biggest upsets in tournament history.
With Love's commitment, Arizona will move from No. 21 to No. 16 in the CBS Sports early preseason Top 25 And 1 rankings.
Arizona gets an experienced, clutch player
The Wildcats added one of the top players available via the transfer portal, who is not shy of having big game experience. Love hit one of the most iconic shots in UNC program history when he buried a 3-pointer in the face of Duke center Mark Williams in the closing seconds of the Final Four. The shot ended Mike Krzyzewski's Hall of Fame career with the Blue Devils.
Love emerged as a star during the 2022 NCAA Tournament but his team struggled last season as North Carolina failed to reach the NCAA Tournament after starting the season preseason ranked as the No. 1 team in the country. Love averaged 16.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists last season.
Love started to have NBA Draft hype around his name after his tournament run, but he elected to come back for another season and will play his final season of college basketball in the Pac-12.
Love latest transfer for Lloyd
Arizona in Lloyd's first season at the school reached the Sweet 16 and lost in the first round last season. Love was born the same year Arizona last reached the Final Four in 2001. The program has had its share of talented rosters during the last two decades, including Elite Eight appearances in 2011, 2014 and 2015 under former coach Sean Miller.
Love isn't the only transfer joining the program via the portal. Arizona secured commitments from former Alabama PG Jaden Bradley and San Diego State PF Keshad Johnson. Bradley ranked as the No. 46 player in the portal, while Johnson was 79th in the 247Sports transfer rankings. All of those players have valuable NCAA Tournament experience.
The biggest loss of the offseason for the Wildcats was losing star PG Kerr Kriisa to the transfer portal. Kriisa, who transferred to West Virginia, led the Pac-12 in assists the last two seasons. Love, Bradley and incoming four-star freshman KJ Lewis will highlight Arizona's new-look roster.
