On Caleb Love’s inconsistency, UA women’s hoops’ minutes, Ka’Deem Carey’s 2nd act | Michael Lev

News: The UA men’s basketball team gets crushed at Wisconsin.

Views: As colleague Bruce Pascoe astutely noted, Caleb Love played a big role in Friday’s game — and not in a good way.

Not only did Love pick up two early fouls — including a technical — en route to fouling out, he didn’t play well when he was on the court. As Pascoe also noted, Love’s offensive struggles typically coincide with Arizona losses.

Here are Love’s statistical splits from last season, according to Sports-Reference.com:

In wins: 17.4 PPG, 43.4% FG, 36.2% 3FG, 5.0 RPG, 3.8 APG, 1.9 TPG (turnovers).

In losses: 19.7 PPG, 36.5% FG, 25.9% 3FG, 4.0 RPG, 2.2 APG, 2.6 TPG.

While he actually scored more points on a per-game basis in losses, Love was far less efficient in those games. He is capable of influencing the outcome in other ways — especially on defense — but it's a bit worrisome if the following is true:

As Love goes, so go the Wildcats.

For better or worse, Love is a streaky shooter. The way he ended last season — a season that saw him earn Pac-12 Player of the Year honors — was downright bizarre. He shot 28.6% from the floor in Arizona’s final six games. The Wildcats went .500 in that stretch. In the three losses — which included the NCAA Sweet 16 — Love shot 20.5%.

Love had his best all-around season under Tommy Lloyd’s tutelage in 2023-24. Even at around 40% from the field, Love is Arizona’s best and most important player.

The Wildcats need to figure out how to win when his shot isn’t falling.

News: The UA women’s basketball team starts the season 5-0.

Views: The sample size remains small, but this stat jumped out to me:

Ten Wildcats are averaging at least 14.3 minutes — and none is averaging more than 24.0.

That will change, of course, as the schedule gets harder. Adia Barnes could empty the bench against the likes of UT Arlington and Chicago State. The UNLV game is probably more reflective of how the minutes will be distributed: Six players played 25 or more, one played 19 and no one else played more than 10.

But these early games are providing an opportunity for new and younger players to earn Barnes’ trust. And that, in turn, should lead to a more robust rotation — assuming the attrition doesn’t approach 2023-24 levels.

Freshman Lauryn Swann is working her way into a regular role. Her minutes have steadily increased, from 15 vs. UT Arlington to 20 vs. Chicago State, and she provides something Arizona badly needs: 3-point shooting. Swann is one of only two Wildcats shooting above 40% from beyond the arc (6 of 13, 46.2%).

The other is Montaya Dew (4 of 7, 57.1%), who has averaged 22.3 minutes over the past three games vs. 12.5 in the first two. That Dew played over 20 minutes in each of the past two contests is an encouraging sign as she continues her post-knee-surgery ramp-up.

Her stat line in those games reflects her all-around talent: 6.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.5 BPG. With her ability to play multiple positions, Dew will solve a lot of problems for Barnes.

News: Former UA star Ka’Deem Carey helps the Toronto Argonauts win the Canadian Football League’s Grey Cup.

Views: Carey is living proof that you don’t have to succeed in the NFL to have a successful career in pro football.

Arizona’s leading career rusher, Carey just completed his sixth and best season in the CFL. Carey played in all 18 regular-season games for the Argos. He ranked third in the league with 1,060 rushing yards — his second-highest season total — and had a career-best 356 receiving yards.

Not bad for a guy who turned 32 on Oct. 30.

I’m sure Carey feels some degree of disappointment and regret that his NFL career didn’t pan out. The Canyon del Oro High School product was a fourth-round pick in 2014, and he played three seasons with the Chicago Bears. He totaled 443 rushing yards.

The CFL allowed him to author a second act. Carey spent six years with the Calgary Stampeders (one on the practice squad, one wiped out by COVID) before signing a one-year deal with Toronto as a free agent.

CFL salaries aren’t in the same ballpark as NFL salaries, but Carey earned in the low six figures each of the past three seasons. And after a stellar 2024 campaign — which also included 214 yards on 36 rushes in three postseason games — Carey has proved he’s far from finished.

News: The Green Bay Packers place former UA standout Jordan Morgan on injured reserve, possibly ending his rookie season.

Views: It’s been something of a lost season for Arizona’s former starting left tackle and first first-round NFL Draft pick since 2008.

Morgan was on track to start at right guard when he suffered a shoulder injury during training camp. A reaggravation of that injury landed Morgan on IR, sidelining him for at least four games (including this past Sunday at Chicago).

Who knows if Morgan has been 100% at any point this season. Considering that he didn’t have surgery — and plays a collision sport for a living — the guess here is that he never was. So Green Bay probably never saw him at his best.

Morgan’s injury issues have Packers fans playing the what-if game. Green Bay needed cornerback help entering the 2024 draft. The Packers conceivably could have traded up for Toledo’s Quinyon Mitchell or Alabama’s Terrion Arnold. They could have selected Iowa’s Cooper DeJean instead of Morgan (and very well might have in the second round if the Philadelphia Eagles hadn’t jumped them).

We’ve all played this game. It’s part of what makes drafts so fun. But it’s unfair to Morgan to write him off after less than one season — an injury-marred one at that.

Those of us who’ve followed the Marana High product's career closely know he’s more than capable of making a comeback. He did it at Arizona. He’ll return stronger and better next season.

News: UA baseball’s 2025 signing class is ranked 18th nationally by Baseball America.

Views: And here I thought Chip Hale couldn’t recruit.

It’s true that Hale had no recruiting experience when he became Arizona’s coach in 2021. But skeptical fans underestimated his intelligence and ability to grasp the big picture.

That includes hiring the right people. Recruiting coordinator Trip Couch does a ton of legwork in the recruiting sphere. He brought a wealth of experience — and a virtual Rolodex full of contacts — from his time at Houston and South Carolina.

Hale’s background in professional baseball will serve him well as college athletics transitions to a new era of revenue-sharing. Colleague Brian Pedersen of Arizona Desert Swarm asked a smart question on signing day: Is this transition easier for Hale because he hasn’t been a college coach the past 20 years?

“Maybe so,” Hale said humbly. “That’s a good point.”

Whereas some coaches flat-out reject the idea of student-athletes being compensated — to the point of “retiring” in the prime of their careers — contracts and salaries are familiar ground for Hale. He’s comfortable in that world.

That being said, Hale emphasized that his pitch to prospects remains the same: Develop your game, get your degree, enhance your chances of playing pro ball and “become a better person.”

“Money-wise, NIL, we don't know how it's going to look in the future,” Hale said. “Is the SEC ... going to be able to outbid us for players? Maybe. But then we probably didn't want them anyway.”