Bowling alley a respite for Arizona's Caleb Love, who enters fifth season of pressure-filled college career

Prodded to go bowling as part of an Arizona Wildcats team activity last season, Caleb Love and two teammates kept going back.

Love became pretty good at it, too. A preseason all-American on the basketball court, Love says his bowling average is around 190, with a high game of 233, good enough that he’s even gotten quite serious about obtaining his own ball.

“It’s coming soon,” Love says.

There’s a teaching aspect, too. The threesome of Love, KJ Lewis and British walk-on guard Jackson Cook wind up sharpening each other in the bowling alley, maybe not all that differently than they do on the basketball court.

“One night, it was just me, Caleb and Jackson and they just taught me a different form,” Lewis said.

Meeting about once a week, their games keep getting better. Teasing may help prod them further.

“KJ has been getting better,” Love says. “He’s not up there with me yet, but he’s working towards it.”

But their performances at the bowling alley, unlike those at McKale, really don’t matter. Maybe a little to them, or maybe somewhat to curious bowlers who spot them from time to time, but to nobody else, really.

Love says it’s simply a chance to get away from basketball. Lewis agreed.

“It’s just something to take your mind off the game, take your mind away from all the pressure, I guess,” Lewis said, “and just to have a regular night with your teammates and guys.”

A regular night. Love, who leads the Wildcats into their 2024-24 opener Monday night in McKale Center against Canisius, doesn’t get many of those. Ever since he blew into a Top 10 prospect in the high school class of 2020, then joined North Carolina as a freshman during the 2020-21 “COVID” season, eyes have always been on him.

Love started 26 of 29 games as a freshman for the Tar Heels, then averaged 15.9 points while shooting 36.0% from 3 as a sophomore in 2021-22, helping lead UNC past Duke in the Final Four semifinals and into a national title game that Kansas won.

He was a hero. Then, the attention took a turn for Love during North Carolina’s difficult season of 2022-23, when the Tar Heels became the first-ever No. 1 team in the Associated Press preseason poll to miss the NCAA Tournament. They finished 20-13, with Love taking nearly a third of the Tar Heels’ 3-point shots but hitting them just 29.9% of the time.

He became a lightning rod for UNC fans’ disappointment. It was pressure, and then some.

Love was gone by early April, initially committing to Michigan but then decommitting after sufficient credits wouldn’t transfer, then picking Arizona instead.

By August 2023, sitting in a five-star resort hotel lobby in the United Arab Emirates, taking in the sites of the Middle East on a tour with his new teammates, Love wore a smile.

“I didn’t know what to expect but I did feel like it was gonna definitely be a great fit for me as far as being in Arizona culture,” Love said then. “I just didn’t know how the dynamic of the team was gonna look. It’s been a great transition, an easy transition.”

Then, more pressure. As much as Love said he enjoyed playing in the UA system, the Wildcats relied on him for prolific — and often clutch — scoring last season.

Love broke the single-game scoring record at Matthew Knight Arena when he dropped 36 points at Oregon, led the Wildcats to the Pac-12 regular-season title and picked up the Pac-12 Player of the Year award.

He wound up leading Arizona (27-9) in scoring with an average of 18.0 points per game, shooting 41.3% overall and 33.2% from 3-point range, but he slumped toward the end of the season. Love shot just 20% from long range over the Wildcats’ final six games, including an 0-for-9 effort in UA’s 77-72 season-ending loss to Clemson in the Sweet 16.

Still, if there were negative whispers after all of that about what sort of player Love really was, UA coach Tommy Lloyd wasn’t listening.

“I haven’t had one bad moment of coaching him,” Lloyd said. “You know what I mean? And if he was (a problem), I wouldn’t have had him back this year.”

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So when Love declared just before the NBA Draft withdrawal deadline that he would play a fifth season of college basketball this year, there wasn’t any doubt about where.

He left for Tucson almost immediately.

“I came straight to Arizona, and I was there the whole summer,” Love said in Kansas City during the Big 12’s preseason media day. “I was in the lab pretty much every day, twice a day, sometimes three times a day.”

By lab, Love mostly means the court, at Richard Jefferson Gym or McKale Center, whatever is available. But he also spent considerable time sitting down to watch video, poring over moments when he pulled up too soon, took a rushed shot, didn’t drive to the basket when he might have been able to, didn’t make the right pass.

Situations, many of which Arizona fans might remember.

Love had an efficient 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists in UA’s win over Wisconsin last December. He was mostly clutch in dropping 26 points on FAU in Las Vegas later that month, but a missed 3-pointer that could have tied the game at the end of a second overtime period.

Love also scored 28 points at Washington State in January, but missed a 3 at the buzzer that could have also tied that game instead of allowing the Cougars a 73-79 win. Then came his downpour at Oregon, and a combined 50 points in the Wildcats’ final two home games, against Washington and Oregon.

Love watched those clips and plotted how to make them better.

“It was a little bit of everything — late shot clock, some bad decisions by me,” Love said. “I’m playing more off the catch now, so it’s not too much dribbling. You may see me take a one dribble, three, and 3-point (attempt), but it’s not like dribble, dribble, step back. You won’t really see much of that. I could do that, but that’s not the most efficient way I want to play.”

Love says he’s also aiming to create shots off ball screens more often, helping himself and teammates get better looks at the basket, while also working more on the defensive end, and in the locker room.

The ultimate goal, Love said, is to make the NBA but with adjustments that would help improve the Wildcats at the same time.

“It’s to be more of a leader, and with my game not being based off just making and missing shots,” Love said. “On the defensive end, my teammates and coaches have been challenging to be better, to be more of a dog.

“And I’m going against them every day, as well. I see how effective they can be on that end. So I’m trying to take bits and pieces from their game, as well.”

It should help Love that there’s plenty of support around him again this season.

Love is the Wildcats’ only returning starter, but UA had players last season who appeared ready to move into the lineup — Motiejus Krivas at center, Lewis at small forward and Jaden Bradley at point guard — while Trey Townsend arrived from Oakland as the mid-major player of the year, with credentials to suggest he can replace Keshad Johnson at power forward.

It’s possible that Love may not have to even attempt a game-winner this season, especially if he’s too much the focus of a defense, with the Wildcats having a go-to threat at nearly every position.

Even projected reserves such as 3-point shooter Anthony Dell’Orso, post player Tobe Awaka and versatile forward Carter Bryant have differing offensive skills that can create a bucket when needed.

“I’ve got great guys around me that can make plays, not only for me, but for themselves,” Love said. “It kind of takes the pressure off me, because J.B., he can go get a bucket anytime he wants. KJ can go get a bucket anytime he wants. Then we can go inside, to Tobe, Trey, big Krivas. It’s so many different layers to all of our games that to where it doesn’t have to be just me.

“Now, when that moment comes, I’m definitely gonna be ready for it, and my teammates are gonna trust in me. But if it’s KJ’s time to shoot the ball in that moment, then I trust him to make the shot.”

While those are the sort of words from standout players that can sometimes lack deep sincerity, Lewis indicated there’s truth to them.

Having played off the bench behind perimeter starters Love, Pelle Larsson and Kylan Boswell last season, Lewis said he’s noticed a difference in the player he now is expected to start alongside on the wing, and not just in Love’s prolific offense.

“Definitely on the defensive side, but also with his unselfishness,” Lewis said. “He’s just been a way better teammate. He’s learning what’s the best shots for us and best shots for him, and he’s just grown as a leader, as well.

“Caleb’s gonna be Caleb — you know, all American, great player, great teammate. The scouts are gonna see it. Everybody in the world is gonna see that.”