Keeping It Heel
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UNC Basketball: Projecting Tar Heels’ starting lineup for next season

By Blake Cockrum

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 24: (L-R) Kerwin Walton #24, R.J. Davis #4, Day'Ron Sharpe #11, Leaky Black #1 and Garrison Brooks #15 of the North Carolina Tar Heels during their game against the Marquette Golden Eagles at the Dean Smith Center on February 24, 2021 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Marquette won 83-70. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 24: (L-R) Kerwin Walton #24, R.J. Davis #4, Day'Ron Sharpe #11, Leaky Black #1 and Garrison Brooks #15 of the North Carolina Tar Heels during their game against the Marquette Golden Eagles at the Dean Smith Center on February 24, 2021 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Marquette won 83-70. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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UNC Basketball
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA – FEBRUARY 24: Caleb Love #2 of the North Carolina Tar Heels moves the ball against the Marquette Golden Eagles during their game at the Dean Smith Center on February 24, 2021 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Marquette won 83-70. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

Caleb Love

Caleb Love will be the Tar Heels’ starting point guard from day one next season, as he’s not only the player most capable of handling the position, but perhaps the only legitimate option for Hubert Davis and company. After all, the team just seems to play a little better with Love as the lead guard.

Sure, R.J. Davis can handle the basketball pretty well, and he’s not a bad passer, either, but there’s little doubt that it’s Love who has the higher ceiling, and puts the team in the best position to win when he’s operating at an optimal level.

Make no mistake, both players struggled mightily last season, particularly as it pertains to efficiency. Davis actually shot the ball a little better than Love, both from the floor and from three-point range. He was also a marginally better free throw shooter, and turned the ball over fewer times per game.

But Love showed on the biggest of stages against rival Duke just how good he can be. In two wins over the neighboring Blue Devils, Love averaged 21.5 points, seven assists and 2.5 rebounds per game. He shot the ball at a 53.5 percent clip (15-for-28), and a scorching 54.5 percent from beyond the arc (6-for-11).

His season statistics were, of course, nowhere near that good, but I expect his production and consistency to skyrocket in year two with the Tar Heels. Look for Love to get a lot of minutes in the coming season, and establish himself as the most dynamic back court player on the UNC roster.

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