Arizona basketball's Caleb Love makes huge NBA Draft decision

The Arizona men's basketball team got some big news, as guard Caleb Love announced that he would be returning for another season, withdrawing his name from the NBA Draft and utilizing his extra year of eligibility with a video that he posted on X.

The 2023-2024 season was Caleb Love's first with the Arizona basketball program, and it was arguably his best in college. He was a key part of a Wildcats team that was capable of making a deep run in March. Arizona entered March Madness as a No. 2 seed, and eventually was upset by Clemson in the Sweet 16 after beating Long Beach State and Clemson in the first two games of their tournament run.

Last season, Arizona likely felt good about its chances of winning a national title if it could have just advanced to the Final Four. The 2024 Final Four was held in Arizona at State Farm Stadium, and the Wildcats would have had a large home advantage against anyone if they had made it to that point.

Regardless, with Love back in the fold, Tommy Lloyd will have a very strong roster going into next season. The Arizona basketball program is one that is usually hopeful to contend for a national title and go deep in March. That has only happened once, in 1997, but the Wildcats are usually in the conversation every year. It would not be a surprise to see Tommy Lloyd break through at some point soon with the rosters he tends to put together. Having a veteran like Love back in the fold for a second year, someone who thrived in Lloyd's system and environment at Arizona, gives the Wildcats a chance to make another deep March run.

Caleb Love's college career

Love started his college career with North Carolina in 2020-2021. In his freshman year, he averaged 10.5 points with 3.6 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game, according to Sports Reference. He took a big jump in his sophomore year at North Carolina, averaging 15.9 points, and helping the Tar Heels get to the national title game. Love hit a shot that sealed North Carolina's win in the semifinal game against Duke, which was coach Mike Krzyzewski's last game as head coach of the Blue Devils.

Love returned to North Carolina for his junior season, where the team struggled and missed the NCAA Tournament after coming into the season as the No. 1 team in the AP poll. Love struggled efficiency wise, and after the season decided it was time for him to transfer and find a new environement.

Initially, Love transferred to the Michigan basketball program, but was unable to enroll due to academic reasons. That led to him choosing Arizona as his next school, which led to him having a successful 2023-2024 season. He will now try to go out with one more strong season in college to try to maximize his NBA chances.