North Carolina’s top scorer decides to enter transfer portal
Dec 30, 2022; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Caleb Love (2) warms up before the game against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Petersen Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Thanks to their nightmare of a 2022-23 season, North Carolina now finds themselves asking, “Where did our Love go?”
Tar Heels guard Caleb Love announced in a post to social media on Monday that he is entering the transfer portal. Love said he is taking “some time with my family to re-evaluate what’s best for me to continue to grow as a player.”
with love, the journey continues…🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/hnVddUAbo3
— Caleb Love (@caleb2love) March 27, 2023
Jeff Goodman of Stadium adds it was a “mutual parting of ways” between Love and UNC.
North Carolina guard Caleb Love announces he will transfer. I’m told it was a mutual parting of ways with the Tar Heels.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 27, 2023
Love, 21, became a Tar Heels icon during his three seasons at Chapel Hill. He was their leading scorer in 2022-23 (with 16.7 points per game) and was also a hero for UNC during their run to the national championship game the season before. Love took over multiple games in that year’s tournament with his one-on-one shot creation, including a dagger three-pointer that downed archnemesis Duke in the Final Four.
CALEB LOVE went off for a career-high 30 Points with a career-high 6 Threes in UNC's win over UCLA
1st Half: 3 PTS
2nd Half: 27 PTS 🔥@caleb2love | #MarchMadnesspic.twitter.com/Idi0BnlWdF— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) March 26, 2022
"That'll break any defense"
Caleb Love from deep 🎯
All Tar Heels in the first half pic.twitter.com/Y0fWB4564K
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 27, 2022
CALEB LOVE!!! ❤️ #FinalFour #GoHeels pic.twitter.com/AcLkP0I4nw
— SportsGrid (@SportsGrid) April 3, 2022
But this season was a hapless one for the Tar Heels. They finished 20-13 (including just 11-9 in conference play) and missed the NCAA Tournament altogether. Now Love has become one of six UNC players (along with Puff Johnson, Justin McKoy, Dontrez Styles, Will Shaver, and Tyler Nickel) to enter the portal.
The Tar Heels did recently get a boost with the news that another key player is surprisingly returning for another season. But they will have to find their footing again without their best offensive threat in Love (on top of all the other players who are transferring).
