Former University of North Carolina basketball standout Caleb Love announces return to college

Six and a half hours before the deadline Wednesday night, Caleb Love, a three-year backcourt starter for the University of North Carolina basketball team and a clutch performer in the 2022 Final Four, announced on social media that he had withdrawn his name from early entry into the NBA Draft and would be returning to Arizona, where he transferred from Chapel Hill and saw action last season.

See also: Tar Heel Stars make no move before withdrawal deadline

“Wildcat Nation,” Love said to Arizona basketball fans at the end of his announcement video, “the way you've welcomed me and shown me so much love has been so amazing. I couldn't walk away from it all now. The show goes on.”

Love's option to spend another year in college was born out of the NCAA's decision not to count the shortened 2020-21 season – his freshman season with the Tar Heels – toward any player's eligibility.

As CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein noted, the 22-year-old is one of five 2023-24 AP All-Americans who will play college basketball in 2024-25, joining Alabama's Mark Sears, Auburn's Joni Bloom, Kansas' Hunter Dickinson and, of course, Love's former University of North Carolina basketball teammate and reigning ACC Player of the Year RJ Davis.

As the Wildcats prepare for their Big 12 debut next season, Davis, the Pac-12's last reigning player of the year, and Love are the only high-major returnees who have already won their conference's player of the year trophy.

UNC and Arizona are not scheduled to meet in the regular season, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see them meet late in the NCAA Tournament, with both teams projected to be ranked inside the top 25 when the season begins.

See also: Top 3 talent hearing from the Tar Heels