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UNC Basketball: ESPN deems Caleb Love a lottery pick in 2021 NBA Draft

By Carson Brown

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 20: (L-R) NBA Draft prospects Kevin Porter Jr., Nicolas Claxton, Sekou Doumbouya, Goga Bitazde, Keldon Johnson, Nassir Little, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Rui Hachimuri, Jarrett Culver, Cam Reddish, Coby White, Zion Williamson, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Ja Morant, De'Andre Hunter, Darius Garland, Brandon Clarke, Romeo Langford, Jaxson Hayes, Tyler Herro, Bol Bol, PJ Washington, Matisse Thybulle and Mfiondu Kabengele stand on stage with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver before the start of the 2019 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center on June 20, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 20: (L-R) NBA Draft prospects Kevin Porter Jr., Nicolas Claxton, Sekou Doumbouya, Goga Bitazde, Keldon Johnson, Nassir Little, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Rui Hachimuri, Jarrett Culver, Cam Reddish, Coby White, Zion Williamson, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Ja Morant, De'Andre Hunter, Darius Garland, Brandon Clarke, Romeo Langford, Jaxson Hayes, Tyler Herro, Bol Bol, PJ Washington, Matisse Thybulle and Mfiondu Kabengele stand on stage with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver before the start of the 2019 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center on June 20, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /
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The next star point guard for the UNC basketball program receives high praise from ESPN in their latest 2021 NBA mock draft.

Much like the rest of us, ESPN doesn’t have any live sports to cover, so they have to find ways to entertain their audience even if it means creating a mock draft for athletes that are still in high school.

Obviously, some of the players on this list have yet to participate in a college basketball game, but their upside is undeniable, and that is what so many NBA scouts and general managers are drawn to in this day and age. One of those players is 5-star point guard and future Tar Heel Caleb Love.

Love, a 6-foot-3, 170-pound prospect out of Christian Brothers College in St. Louis, Missouri, comes in at No. 11 on the list. If it happened, that it would likely mark the third consecutive year that a North Carolina point guard has been selected in the NBA Draft’s lottery, after Coby White was taken seventh in 2019 and Cole Anthony a like top-14 pick in 2020.

ESPN touched on Love’s incredible length, size, and frame for his position, and how he’s starting to put all the pieces together to be able to run the offense in Chapel Hill. They lauded his ability to make the players around him better, and how his basketball IQ makes him unique.

They did, however, point out some flaws in Love’s game. They weren’t high on his ability to make snap decisions out of the pick-and-roll, and they questioned his ability to finish at the rim through contact. Also addressed ESPN’s assessment of Love was his consistency, though there wasn’t a ton of emphasis put on it, much in part because of the experience he will gain under the direction of UNC head coach Roy Williams.

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The bar has certainly been set high for Caleb Love. The UNC basketball program and its fans are anxious to see him hit the court in the fall of 2020.

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