Five-star Class of 2020 point guard Caleb Love on Wednesday trimmed his list of finalists to two — Missouri and North Carolina — and called off scheduled visits to Kansas and Louisville.
Evan Daniels, of 247 Sports, first reported the news and it should not come as a surprise to Kansas fans.
While Love was scheduled to visit KU the weekend of Oct. 11 — rescheduled from earlier this month because of a schedule conflict with USA Basketball — everyone I talked to in recruiting circles in recent weeks seemed to think there was next to no chance that the 6-foot-3, 175-pound point guard from Christian Brothers College High in St. Louis was coming to Kansas.
The No. 21-ranked prospect in the Rivals.com 2020 class has long been tied to Missouri, both because of the Tigers’ proximity to his hometown and his relationship with MU coach Cuonzo Martin. But it appears his visit to North Carolina last weekend really got things moving toward a final decision.
As of Sept. 17, in an interview with Rivals.com’s Eric Bossi, Love said he expected things to become clearer after he took “all of these visits.” At that time, the expectation was that he would visit all four of his finalists (he had already made an unofficial visit to KU this summer) and then make a decision, perhaps as soon as the November signing period.
But then the trip to UNC happened and Love cancelled his visits to KU and Louisville and trimmed his list to a final two. You’d have to be blind not to see how good that looks for the Tar Heels.
There will be some speculation that Love made the decision to cut Kansas in reaction to [this week’s Notice of Allegations news,][1] but I don’t think that’s the case here. I think this was coming the minute he made the trip to Carolina and I’d be surprised if the five-star point guard does not end up playing for Roy Williams next season.
Wrote Daniels of Love’s skill set: “Love can play either guard spot and shows significant potential on the defensive end. A score-first point guard, he has the ability to put his team on his back as a bucket getter or a facilitator. Right now, he is more comfortable taking shots than setting up teammates, but his passing has improved and he is doing a better job of running a team. Ultimately, it comes down to Love’s ability to run a team at the college level and beyond, but there is no doubt he can score.”
[1]: http://www2.kusports.com/news/2019/sep/24/analysis-understanding-what-matters-and-what-doesn/