Wildcats give Love back to Caleb after season-ending loss to Duke in Sweet 16

NEWARK, N.J. — Maybe in a decade or two, Caleb Love’s Arizona teammates will still remember the 60-foot buzzer beater against Iowa State, his 33 points against TCU in the Wildcats’ first-ever Big 12 game and, for the guys who were also around last season, the arena-record 36 Love scored at Oregon.

But even after Love had another memorable effort in Arizona’s 100-93 loss to Duke in the Sweet 16, scoring a season-high 35 points to lead a spirited second-half surge, that wasn’t really what UA coach Tommy Lloyd and some of his players were talking about.

They were talking about the guy who became something of a scapegoat for a down year at North Carolina in 2022-23, then spent his last two college seasons at Arizona leading the Wildcats on the court and in the locker room.

“I just want to set the record straight for any scouts or anybody who thinks he’s not a good teammate,” forward Henri Veesaar said. “He’s the best person. Everybody loves him on the team. There’s no problems with him. He’s the best person we have.”

Veesaar usually doesn’t say much at interview podiums, a native Estonian with good English skills but a somewhat reserved nature that sometimes doesn’t showcase them.

But this time, after answering a question about defending Duke’s lobs, Veesaar veered off to weigh in on an earlier query about Love that was posed to Jaden Bradley.

“I want to answer the same question about Caleb because I just want to say something,” Veesaar said. “If anybody ever thinks he’s not a good teammate, that’s not true. He’s the best teammate we have. He’s one of the better persons I ever met. He’s pushed me so much over the last two years. I’m so grateful for him.”

Just before that, Bradley had credited Love not just for his play but also for building relationships.

“He really took all of us under his wing,” Bradley said. “He’s a leader. He’s been through so much and taught us all so much. Definitely going to miss playing with him. He’s just a great guy.”

Veesaar gave an example.

Having scored just 11 points while hitting 1 of 6 free throws combined in UA’s first two NCAA Tournament wins in Seattle last weekend, Veesaar noted how Love prodded him after missing his first free throw against Duke on Thursday.

“I was struggling, and he talked to me,” Veesaar said. “He came up to me after I missed the free throw because he made me practice free throws (last weekend). He came up to me, (and said) ‘Hey, we worked way too hard. You got this.’ After that I didn’t miss a free throw.”

Veesaar hit his next seven free throws, the first four of which helped the Wildcats stay within a possession of Duke throughout much of the first half, while he hit an and-one free throw for a three-point play that helped cut what was a 19-point Duke lead earlier in the second half to just 78-71 with 7:46 left.

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Just before that, Love had scored 15 points in less than five minutes, capped by a driving layup with 8:15 to go that trimmed Duke’s lead to 78-68, almost singlehandedly getting the Wildcats back into what could have been a blowout loss to the No. 1 ranked and No. 1 seeded Blue Devils.

Love finished with his 35 points on 11-for-21 shooting from the field, while hitting 8 of 9 free throws and collecting four rebounds, an assist and a steal.

“I know he was tremendous today,” Lloyd said. “He’s going to wake up tomorrow and he’s going to smile because he has a lot to look forward to. I’m really, really proud of him.”

After consistently defending Love after rough games over the past two seasons, Lloyd said this time simply that he’s going to miss him.

Love played three seasons at North Carolina, drawing fame for scoring 28 points in the Tar Heels’ win over Duke in the 2022 Final Four semifinals, while struggling along with his UNC teammates most of the 2022-23 season.

The Tar Heels didn’t make the NCAA Tournament that season despite being ranked No. 1 in the preseason, and Love transferred to Arizona afterward. He became the Pac-12 Player of the Year last season, tested the NBA Draft last spring, then came back to make first-team all-Big 12 this season.

“Obviously he’s had an amazing career,” Lloyd said. “I’m so excited for his future.”

While any of the Wildcats could be playing elsewhere next season in this era of college free agency — and many of them were noncommittal following their loss to Duke on Friday, including Love’s perimeter mates Jaden Bradley, KJ Lewis and Anthony Dell’Orso — Love is definitely gone because he’s out of eligibility.

He played five seasons of college basketball, started 169 of 174 games, scored 2,672 points and made more than a few friends at his second school.

“I went through a lot transferring from my other school, and they took me under their wing,” Love said. “They accepted me for who I was. I just want to give all my thanks to them because without them, I wouldn’t be here, and I wouldn’t be the player that I’ve grown to be.

“The points are good, but the relationships that I’ve built over the course of my career, especially at Arizona, is just ... I give all my thanks to them.”

Photos: Arizona can't run down Duke in a 100-93 loss in the Sweet 16