North Carolina transfer Caleb Love decommits from Michigan basketball
Michigan Wolverines basketball landed a verbal pledge former North Carolina guard Caleb Love — the No. 3 player in the NCAA transfer portal per On3 — in April. However, Love has decommitted from the Maize and Blue, a source told On3’s Joe Tipton.
There were rumors on Twitter weeks back that Love was wavering, but he shot them down with social media posts of his own.
“Yes, I will play for Michigan next year! Stay tuned! Go Blue,” Love tweeted.
Now, Love is back on the open market. Missouri was a top contender before he committed to the Wolverines.
There was reportedly a snafu with Love’s credits transferring from North Carolina to Michigan.
“Love did not have the subsequent credits to transfer in, per sources,” CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander tweeted.
“Michigan admissions doesn’t play around,” Stadium’s Jeff Goodman posted.
“Caleb Love did not have the necessary academic credits to transfer into the University of Michigan,” Fox Sports’ John Fanta tweeted. “Michigan’s academic standards for transfers are different/higher than other schools. Caleb Love will end up finding a destination and there will be interested programs in him.”
Last season, Michigan suffered from a similar issue, when former Texas Tech guard Terrence Shannon Jr. was close to committing but reportedly didn’t due to a problem with credits being accepted. He played for Illinois instead.
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Michigan still holds pledges from two transfers in former Seton Hall forward Tray Jackson and former Alabama guard Nimari Burnett. Head coach Juwan Howard and Co. have three scholarship spots available for the 2023-24 season.
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Love, a 6-foot-4, 200-pounder, averaged 16.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists per contest in 2022-23, shooting 45.5 percent on twos and 29.9 percent on threes (244 attempts). The Tar Heels were ranked No. 1 in the preseason AP poll rankings but flopped with a 20-13 record, missing the NCAA Tournament and declining an NIT invite.
The 2022-23 North Carolina backcourt struggled, and it was no surprise Love decided to move on. The Tar Heels posted their fewest amount of assists in a season since the stat began being tracked in 1968-69. Love’s shot selection, too, was heavily criticized. Despite having a low field goal percentage, Love attempted 28.4 percent of the Tar Heels’ shots when he was on the floor. On average, Love missed 9.5 field goal attempts per game.
Love was the darling of the 2022 NCAA Tournament. His hot shooting led the Tar Heels on a surprise run to the national championship game, before they lost to Kansas in a wild final. He scored 27 points in the second half of a Sweet 16 win over UCLA and hit the game-sealing three-pointer to bury Duke in the Final Four. He scored 28 points in the win over the Blue Devils.
