As one UNC basketball player leaves, another announces he’ll stay
As Sterling Manley announced he’d be leaving North Carolina at the end of the semester, another revealed his return on Friday night.
With a simple tweet of “unfinished business,” freshman point guard Caleb Love’s decision to come back for his sophomore season was the best news the Tar Heels had in a week of attrition.
Love was the highest rated recruit for Carolina in the class of 2020 at No. 14 in the 247 composite rankings. And there were times he showed why he was viewed so highly. He was the first UNC player to ever post 25 points and seven assists at Duke and joined Charles Scott and Phil Ford as the only players to achieve the feat against the Blue Devils in any game.
But the 6-foot-4 point guard from St. Louis also struggled with his consistency. He had the second highest turnover rate (24.6) among starting point guards in the ACC. He shot just 26.6 percent from 3-point range and wasn’t much better inside the arc, where he made just 34.8 percent of his shots. Love’s low shooting percentages were largely due to poor shot selection, especially early in the season.
Love showed a lot of promise especially as he began to feel more comfortable in the college game. In the Heels’ final six games of the season, he shot 38 percent from 3, making 13 of 34 attempts.
Manley, a 6-foot-11 Ohio native, posted on his social media accounts Friday that he will transfer upon his graduation this season. It marked the third frontcourt player this week to announce they will not return to UNC next season. Freshman center Walker Kessler entered the transfer portal and freshman forward Day’Ron Sharpe decided to enter his name into the NBA draft.
Manley showed promise as a freshman, scoring 16 points and grabbing 13 rebounds in just 17 minutes of play against Bucknell. He played in all 37 games and averaged 5.4 points and 3.6 rebounds. But it was the only time he’d play a complete season in Chapel Hill. Manley spent most of the past three seasons trying to rehabilitate injuries.
“My journey has been a little different, but with God, the great staff here at UNC and my awesome family, I have been able to persevere and continue to live my dream,” Manley wrote on his post. “I’ve been blessed to have four years at the University of North Carolina and it has been nothing short of amazing but with lots of prayer and the guidance of my family I’ve decided to take my talents and move elsewhere after I graduate this year.”
Manley’s sophomore season was shortened when he missed 16 games with soreness in his right knee. He then sat out the 2019-20 season in its entirety after having surgery to repair cartilage in his left knee.
This season as a redshirt junior, Manley still wasn’t healthy enough to play until he made an appearance in the lineup at Syracuse on March 1.
He was well-liked by his teammates, who watched him work to get back on the court. It was never more evident than the regular season finale against Duke, when Manley dunked his only basket of the the season and the bench went wild.
This story was originally published March 26, 2021 at 7:56 PM.