As potential Elite Eight game vs. UNC looms, Arizona’s Caleb Love ‘grateful’ for journey
It was a year ago Wednesday when Caleb Love announced his decision to transfer from North Carolina, in a social media post that generated nearly six million views. The news rippled across the corners of the Internet where people most closely follow college basketball, with Love writing how he’d “cherish the bonds” he’d made at UNC; that “I will love you all forever.”
His decision to transfer was an emotional one. Love is remembered for making one of the greatest shots in the Tar Heels’ storied basketball history — the one that helped send Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski into retirement during the 2022 Final Four. And yet he also became a lightning rod; a player who attracted the most criticism and angst during a period of transition at UNC.
Now, after almost a year at Arizona, Love and the Tar Heels are days away from a potential reunion, of sorts. It is hardly official. But if Arizona defeats Clemson in Los Angeles on Thursday night, and if UNC defeats Alabama in the second game of the NCAA Tournament West Regional semifinals, then it would happen: Love against his old team, with a trip to the Final Four in the balance.
Cue the dramatic CBS intro, and what would surely be a deluge of media coverage. Love met with reporters in the Arizona locker room on Wednesday afternoon, and deflected a question about the possibility of facing UNC on Saturday. He was, he said, “just focused on Clemson right now.” Even so, there was some symmetry to the moment that was unavoidable.
The last time Love was in the Sweet 16 was two years ago, amid the Tar Heels’ improbable run to the Final Four. And how he’s back in this round, again, after all the pain of a year ago, when Love absorbed his share — probably more of his share, in reality — of the blame when UNC missed the NCAA Tournament after starting the season ranked No. 1.
And who might just stand in the way of a Final Four appearance than Love, for UNC, and UNC, for Love and Arizona? Love on Wednesday received a taste of the frenzy that would likely await if a UNC-Arizona matchup comes to fruition. He used the word “grateful” three times in the span of about 10 seconds, to describe his journey over the past year.
“Just grateful to be here,” he said. “Grateful to do it with these guys.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment for two years.”
Love and his Arizona teammates on Thursday will have the first chance of any of the tournament’s remaining 16 teams to advance to the Elite Eight. And then it will be UNC’s turn. By late Thursday night — past midnight, potentially, on the East Coast — the storyline will have either died, or will it have taken on new heights, with the moment becoming reality.
He spoke on Wednesday of the “tough battles” he endured at UNC, and how he relied on his faith and help from his parents. It’d been a long road. And of those battles, he described them as “the off-the-court stuff and what I had to go through.”
“I came to college to play basketball,” he said, “and there was a lot of extra stuff that I think that I went through that I didn’t deserve. But like I said, I think everything happens for a reason and ... if I didn’t go through that I probably wouldn’t be who I am right now.”
Now Love, who earned Pac-12 Player of the Year honors, is one victory away from another NCAA Tournament regional final. He helped lead the Tar Heels to that stage two years ago, who very well could be standing in the way, this time. He said he was focused on the task ahead. The anticipation continued to build, meanwhile, for something that feels inevitable, if not ordained.
This story was originally published March 27, 2024 at 9:10 PM with the headline "As potential Elite Eight game vs. UNC looms, Arizona’s Caleb Love ‘grateful’ for journey."
