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UNC Basketball: Caleb Love’s importance to 2020 Tar Heels

By Blake Cockrum

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - NOVEMBER 16: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels watches his team play against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles during the first half of their game at the Dean Smith Center on November 16, 2018 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - NOVEMBER 16: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels watches his team play against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles during the first half of their game at the Dean Smith Center on November 16, 2018 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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How is the UNC basketball program affected by the commitment of 5-star point guard Caleb Love?

The North Carolina basketball program picked up another 5-star commitment on Tuesday night, and it might be the Tar Heels’ most important pledge of the 2020 recruiting class.

Caleb Love, a top-25 prospect and the No. 4 point guard in his class, became the second 5-star recruit to commit to North Carolina in as many weeks, and the team’s third such player in the 2020 class. A dynamic lead guard that can score, facilitate and defend, Love is a nice piece — and one that perfectly fits the mold of former All-American point guards at UNC — to add to the Tar Heels’ freshman class next year.

And he won’t have any shortage of talent around him, either. The 6-foot-3, 170-pound guard already has two 5-star bigs in Day’Ron Sharpe and Walker Kessler committed to play alongside him next season. Add to it any future additions to the 2020 class, as well as potential holdovers from the 2019-20 Tar Heels, and Love looks to have a bevy of talent at his fingertips next season.

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More importantly, though, Love will join a UNC squad next year that’s in desperate need of back court reinforcements. Despite the fact that Tar Heels freshman point guard Cole Anthony has yet to step foot on to a college basketball court, the likelihood of his departure for the NBA next spring is nearly 100 percent. That’s why Love’s commitment, and his place on next year’s team, had become such a hot topic among North Carolina fans of late. It’s also why the UNC coaching staff prioritized him, along with consensus top-5 point guard prospect Cade Cunningham, over the past several months.

With Love now in tow, however, the Tar Heels’ point guard position could go from a place of need to an embarrassment of wealth. If Roy Williams and company can secure a commitment from Cunningham — the player thought to be far-and-away the top point guard prospect in the class — it could give the Tar Heels the best back court in the country, and make them an early favorite to reach the Final Four in 2021.

Whether or not Cunningham commits to the Tar Heels is yet to be seen, and getting him away from the Oklahoma State Cowboys could prove to be quite difficult. It’s also unknown exactly how Cunningham feels about playing next to another 5-star point guard prospect compared to virtually running the show in Stillwater. Williams has recruited him with the possibility of having another high-caliber guard on the roster, with Cunningham being the overwhelming choice for the lead guard role.

There’s no doubt that it could work, but is that what Cunningham will want in what could be his lone year of college basketball? He’s already taken two visits to Chapel Hill, and a number of recruiting analysts believe that if Cunningham doesn’t choose Oklahoma State, that North Carolina is the likeliest destination for him.

Next. Cole Anthony named a preseason All-American. dark

Check back with Keeping It Heel for more on Caleb Love, Cade Cunningham and everything UNC basketball.

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