Caleb Love set to return to Arizona if he withdraws from NBA Draft

After spending the first three years of his college career as a member of the University of North Carolina basketball program, Caleb Love transferred to the University of Arizona, where he was the 3rd-leading scorer in the Pac-12 last season. For his efforts for the regular season conference champions, Love was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year last season, becoming the fifth Wildcats player to win Conference Player of the Year in the last 15 years, joining Derrick Williams, Nick Johnson, DeAndre Ayton and Bennedict Mathurin in this club.

Predictably, after Arizona's season ended with a disappointing loss to Clemson in the Sweet Sixteen, Caleb Love decided that he'd be testing the waters of the NBA Draft. It's not abnormal for any player, particularly one who has had the amount of success Love has had in his four collegiate seasons, to try to get a feel for what a leap to the pros might look like. And although Love didn't get an invite to the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago after first participating in the G League Elite Camp over the weekend, he's still weighing his options, and considering whether to remain in the draft, or to withdraw by the May 29th deadline and head back to Arizona.

“This week will tell me a lot,” Love told Isaac Trotter of CBS Sports over the weekend. “Play the best I can and give as much effort as I can and show in the interviews the person that I am off the court. After this week, I'll have an understanding of where I want to go with it.”

Unfinished business at Arizona? 

What makes Love such a polarizing prospect is because his highs can be very high, and his lows can be very low. While at North Carolina, Love played a key role in sending Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski out with a loss against North Carolina in the Final Four in his final game coaching the Blue Devils. But those who are familiar with the Caleb Love experience know that while he's always willing to take the biggest shot of the game, those shots don't always go down. Against Clemson in the NCAA Tournament last year, Love was a disastrous 5-for-18 from the field, including a brutal 0-for-9 from three-point range.

But even left with such a sour taste in his mouth, Love had nothing but great things to say about the Arizona Wildcats basketball program, head coach Tommy Lloyd, and his teammates in Tucson.

“Coach (Tommy) Lloyd helped me expand my game and grow my game. Playing with my teammates, they made it so much fun. It was a great overall year. I definitely grew in areas that I didn't at UNC, so I'm grateful for Arizona and that whole community.”

And while every high-level player's dream is to eventually play in the NBA, returning to Arizona wouldn't be a terrible consolation prize, and that doesn't have anything to do with the fact that Love could still make good money through NIL.

“If I chose to go back, it wouldn't be for the money. It would be to expand my game and elevate my game and compete for a national championship.”