By R.L. Bynum
Caleb Love is heading to Michigan.
After three seasons at Carolina, Love announced on social media on Friday that he’ll continue his career with the Wolverines playing for Coach Juwan Howard.
“Go rewrite your story kid …,” Love posted on social media.
Love scored 18 points on Dec. 21 at the Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte when UNC beat Michigan 80–76. On Dec. 1, 2012, he scored 22 points at the Smith Center in Carolina’s 72–51 victory over the Wolverines in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Michigan and Carolina are in the Battle 4 Atlantis field for the November event in the Bahamas, making it possible for Love to compete against many of his former teammates in that event.
Last season’s game in Charlotte shifted when Michigan’s Hunter Dickinson, who is in the transfer portal, hit Love in the face and put his knee near Love’s face. They had heated words and UNC took control of the game after that.
Michigan finished 18–16 last season. The Wolverines lost four of their last five games, falling to Coach Jerry Stackhouse’s Vanderbilt team 66–65 in the second round of the NIT.
Love is the second men’s basketball player to transfer between the schools after Makhtar N’Diaye transferred from Michigan to UNC in the mid-1990s. N’Diaye was part of the 1997 team that made the Final Four.
Love is the third of the six UNC players to hit the transfer portal to commit after Tyler Nickel committed to Virginia Tech and Justin McKoy to Hawaii. Still yet to commit are Dontrez Styles, Puff Johnson and Will Shaver.
“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 last month when he entered the transfer portal.
Love’s 3-pointer against Duke in the 2022 Final Four is one of the most iconic shots in Carolina basketball history, immortalized in the Carolina Basketball Museum.
Love 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.
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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.
| No. | Class | Player | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Freshman | Maximo Adams (MAX-ih-mo) | F | 6–7 | 220 |
| 30 | Freshman | Malloy Smith | G | 6–5 | 180 |
| 21 | Freshman | Sayon Keita (SIGH-on KAY-tuh) | C | 7–0 | 205 |
| 5 | Freshman | Kevin Thomas | W | 6–6 | 205 |
| 35 | Sophomore | Cade Bennerman — U | C | 7–0 | 205 |
| 17 | Sophomore | Neo Avdalas — W (NEE-oh ahv-DOLL-lus) | G | 6–9 | 220 |
| 2 | Sophomore | Isaiah Denis | G | 6–4 | 185 |
| 3 | Sophomore | Matt Able — X | G | 6–5 | 200 |
| 22 | Junior | Alexandros Samodurov (Alex-ANN-drose SAH-muh-DUHR-off) | C | 6–11 | 225 |
| 1 | Senior | Terrence Brown — Y | G | 6–3 | 180 |
| 4 | Senior | Jaydon Young (JAY-din) | G | 6–4 | 200 |
| 15 | Senior | Jarin Stevenson (JARE-in) | F | 6–10 | 220 |
| 14 | Graduate | Angelo Brizzi — Z (BRIZZ-ee) | G | 6–3 | 200 |
| 54 | Graduate | Cameron Fens — V (Fenz) | C | 7–0 | 255 |
| Walk-ons | |||||
| 99 | Junior | John Holbrook — SA | F | 6–8 | 230 |
| 32 | Senior | Evan Smith | G | 6–1 | 200 |
V — South Dakota transfer; U — Northwestern transfer; W — Virginia Tech transfer; X — N.C. State transfer; Y — Utah transfer; Z — Buffalo transfer; SA — Holbrook is a designated student-athlete, so he doesn’t count against UNC’s 15-player limit.
Coach Michael Malone’s coaching staff — Associate head coach Chuck Martin; assistant coaches Bryan Tibaldi (tih-BALL-dee), Sean May, Jorge Sanz (HOR-hey sahnth), Pat Sullivan and Brandon Robinson; Director of player development Deon Thompson.
Former players at other schools
| Player | Class | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt | Next school |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luka Bogavac | Senior | W | 6–6 | 215 | Oklahoma State |
| James Brown | Senior | C | 6–10 | 240 | Howard |
| Derek Dixon | Sophomore | G | 6–5 | 200 | Arizona |
| Kyan Evans | Senior | G | 6–2 | 175 | Minnesota |
| Zayden High | Junior | C | 6–10 | 230 | South Florida |
| Jonathan Powell | Junior | G | 6–6 | 190 | Pittsburgh |
| Ivan Matlekovic | Junior | C | 7–0 | 255 | Pacific |
UNC schedule
| Date | Month/day | Opponent/event (final ranks) |
|---|---|---|
| October | Exhibitions | |
| 9 | 7 p.m. Friday | vs. USC in Greensboro |
| 18 | 5 p.m. Sunday | vs. Indiana in Indianapolis |
| 27 | Tuesday | vs. Charlotte |
| November | Regular season | |
| 2 | Monday | vs. Western Carolina |
| 6 | Friday | vs. Wofford |
| 10 | Tuesday | vs. Wyoming |
| 13 | Friday | vs. Georgia |
| 20 | Friday | vs. Marshall |
| 23 | Monday | vs. Monmouth |
| 27 | Friday, 7 p.m. | Dick Vitale Invitational vs. West Virginia in Charlotte |
| December | ||
| 1 | Tuesday, 7:30, ESPN2 | ACC/SEC Challenge vs. No. 13 Arkansas |
| 6 | Sunday | vs. Butler |
| 12 | Saturday afternoon | at Georgetown |
| 15 | 7 p.m. Tuesday | Tobacco Road Classic vs. N.C. State in Greensboro |
| 19 | 2:30 Saturday, CBS | CBS Sports Classic vs. Kentucky in New York |
| 21 | Monday | vs. The Citadel |
| 30 | Wednesday | vs. California |
| January | ||
| 2 | Saturday | at Boston College |
| 5 | 7 p.m. Tuesday | at Louisville |
| 9 | Saturday | vs. N.C. State |
| 13 | Wednesday | at Florida State |
| 16 | Saturday | vs. Stanford |
| 19 | Tuesday | vs. No. 17 Virginia |
| 23 | Saturday | at Syracuse |
| 26 | Tuesday | vs. SMU |
| 30 | Saturday | Nashville Hoops Showdown vs. No. 5 Illinois in Nashville, Tenn. |
| February | ||
| 2 | Tuesday | at Notre Dame |
| 6 | Saturday | vs. Georgia Tech |
| 8 | Monday, 7 p.m, ESPN | vs. Louisville |
| 13 | Saturday | at No. 4 Duke |
| 20 | Saturday | at Wake Forest |
| 22 | Monday, 7 p.m, ESPN | vs. No. 24 Miami |
| 27 | Saturday | at Virginia Tech |
| March | ||
| 2 | Tuesday | at Pittsburgh |
| 6 | Saturday | vs. No. 4 Duke |
| 9–13 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament in Greensboro |
Photos via @UNC_Basketball
Reminiscent of Rashad McCants. Square peg round hole. I can envision he and Howard being a train wreck! Fare thee well and thanks for your memorex moment vs. Puke!