Overall:

Caleb Love is a NBA ready combo guard.  Love has positional size and skill to go along with elite shooting and playmaking for his position.  His boundless confidence is a double edged sword  in shot making leading to both electrifying but also head scratching plays.  With his size and athleticism he could be a much more impactful defender so there is lots of upside in Love’s game.

Love was a key factor and made many big shots down the stretch including clutch shots to help defeat arch rival Duke to win the ACC championship and knock them out of the 2022 Final Four of the NCAA tournament.  2022-23 will be Love’s junior season for the North Carolina Tar Heels. 

Note:  Prospects compared to statistical averages of drafted NBA players (2017-2022), by position, from their last college season.

Guards = Below 6’5″

Wings = 6’6″ to 6’9″

Posts = Above 6’10”

Blue      Comparable to average drafted NBA players by position.

Green  Exceeds the average drafted NBA players by position.

Red      Below the average of drafted NBA players by position.

Darker color signifies a greater statistical variance.

Offense:

Caleb Love checks a lot of boxes offensively.  A four level scorer, he attacks the rim, efficiently shoots from three, can score from mid range, and make his free throws.  He is, as they say, a walking bucket.  Love’s shot mix numbers reflect his versatility.  He is Very Good at jumpers and finishing at the rim.  

On the surface, Love shot just 37% FG%.  And while his low shooting percentage would be a concern, it is more about shot selection than his ability to score.  He shoots a solid 36% from three and a smoking hot 86% from the free throw line.   When Love sets his feet, it’s “money good”. 

Another fact that bodes well for Love is his most frequent Play Types are the same as the more frequent Play Types in the NBA.  Spot ups, pick and roller handler and transition makes up 74% of Love’s Play Types.  

There is no doubt that his supreme confidence and willing to take difficult shots negatively impact his shooting efficiency. With experience this should improve.

Wanna Sees:

Improved efficiency in mid range.  

Improved overall efficiency in field goal percentage

Improved shot selection

Assists and Decision Making

Love is a willing passer.  It helps that he has such great finishers in Bacot and especially Manec in the paint and on the perimeter that can finish plays.  His freshman year he averaged a solid 3.6 assists per game.  For a combo guard, Love makes plays for his teammates.  However, Love gets into trouble playing too fast and trying to fit passes into small windows.  Posting 2.7 turnovers per game.  This should improve with more experience.  

Wanna See

Improved decision making in pick and roll

Great variety of high level passes

Touch passes, one hand off the dribble, weak side kick outs

Rebounding and defense

Caleb does a great job of dropping down to help with long baseline rebounds.  With his athleticism he could bring in more rebounds.  Rebounding is not a primary responsibility for guards, but it certainly contributes to winning basketball.  

Defensively, Love has good ball hawking instincts and is good enough around the ball enough to produce better numbers in steals, blocks and deflections.  

Wanna sees:

Higher commitment on defense to be more disruptive.

Tier of 2023 draft prediction:  Mid first round