By R.L. Bynum
The Caleb Love Experience is shifting to another school.
After three seasons at Carolina, Love announced on social media on Monday that he’s entering the transfer portal.
“I’ve taken some time with my family to re-evaluate what’s best for me to continue to grow as a player and I’ve decided to enter the transfer portal to continue my journey,” Love said in a post on social media.
He is the sixth UNC player to enter the transfer portal after Justin McKoy, Tyler Nickel, Dontrez Styles, Puff Johnson and Will Shaver. It leaves Carolina with four open roster spots after Brown transfer Paxton Wojcik committed to UNC later Monday.
A logical landing spot for Love would be Missouri since he grew up in St. Louis.
“My time at UNC has been rewarding and has inspired me to grow on and off the court. I’m extremely thankful to God for this journey,” Love said who was the target on social media of plenty of criticism from the fanbase.
There was plenty of debate among Tar Heels fans about Love after he shot 29.9% from 3-point range last season while attempting a team-high 244 shots from outside the arc (RJ Davis attempted the second-most with 174). He averaged more turnovers (2.4 per game) than 3-pointers (2.2).
Love is third in program history in 3-point attempts (630), ninth in 3-pointers (200) and 17th in free-throw percentage (81.5). He made at least one 3-pointer in 85 games, including a school-record 45 consecutive games.
Love scored a career-high 34 points in the four-overtime loss to Alabama. Two of his four top scoring games were against Duke, 29 in last season’s win in the Final Four when he hit a huge 3-pointer late in the game, and 25 in a win at Duke on Feb. 6, 2021. He scored 30 in UNC’s regional semifinal victory last season over UCLA.
Love scored a career-high six 3-pointers four times, against UCLA and Marquette in last season’s NCAA tournament, at home this past season against Clemson and against Florida State on Feb. 12, 2022.
He finished his career at Carolina averaging 14.6 points per game over three years, including 16.7 last season.
UNC roster
Here is a rundown of the Tar Heels’ scholarship players from the just-completed season, with their class should they return next season listed. UNC has two available scholarships.
| No. | Class | Player | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Returnees | | | |
| 4 | Sr. | RJ Davis | PG | 6–0 | 175 |
| 0 | Soph. | Seth Trimble | PG | 6–3 | 192 |
| 13 | Soph. | Jalen Washington | 4 | 6–10 | 225 |
| 5 | 5th year | Armando Bacot | 5 | 6–11 | 235 |
| Incoming transfers | |||||
| 5th year | Cormac Ryan (Notre Dame) | 3 | 6–5 | 195 | |
| 5th year | Paxton Wojcik (Brown) | 3 | 6–5 | 200 | |
| Junior | Harrison Ingram (Stanford) | 3 | 6–7 | 230 | |
| Senior | Jae’Lyn Withers (Louisville) | 4 | 6–9 | 220 | |
| ESPN rank | Incoming freshmen | ||||
| 10 (Class of 2024) | Elliot Cadeau (5 star) | PG | 6–0 | 175 | |
| 27 | Simeon Wilcher (4 star) | 2 | 6–3 | 185 | |
| 64 | Zayden High (4 star) | 4 | 6–9 | 225 | |
| | | Eligibility over | | | |
| | Leaky Black | 3 | 6–9 | 205 | |
| | Pete Nance | 4 | 6–11 | 230 | |
| Outgoing transfers | |||||
| Caleb Love (Arizona) | 2 | 6–4 | 200 | ||
| Dontrez Styles (Georgetown) | 4 | 6–6 | 210 | ||
| Tyler Nickel (Va. Tech) | 3 | 6–7 | 220 | ||
| Justin McKoy (Hawaii) | 4 | 6–8 | 220 | ||
| Puff Johnson (Penn State) | 3 | 6–8 | 200 | ||
| Will Shaver (UAB) | 5 | 6–10 | 260 | ||
| In transfer portal | |||||
| D’Marco Dunn | 3 | 6–5 | 190 | ||
| ESPN rank | 2024–25 freshman class | ||||
| 5 | Ian Jackson (5 star) | 2 | 6–5 | 180 | |
| 37 | Drake Powell (4 star) | 3 | 6–5 | 185 | |
| 48 | James Brown (4 star) | 5 | 6–9 | 225 |
tarheeltribune.com 
This may be addition through subtraction. There is opportunity for the remaining players to be great next year, plus with a few additional transfers it could be a great year.
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