Between ESPN’s College GameDay returning to Tucson, a naming rights deal announced for the McKale Center, and a new addition to the rafters, it was a historic weekend for Arizona men’s basketball. On Saturday, former Wildcat Caleb Love was officially inducted into the Arizona Ring of Honor. He was invited to join the Ring of Honor in July by Arizona Athletic Director Desireé Reed-Francois.
“It means the world, man, it’s a blessing. I thank the man above getting me to this point, but just been a long journey for me, ups and downs, everything in between,” said Love during a pregame press conference on Saturday at the McKale Center. “But I wouldn’t trade it for nothing. And you know, the decision I made to come to Arizona is one of the best decisions I’ve made.”
The guard played his final two seasons of college basketball in Tucson, earning All-American honors and Pac-12 Player of the Year in 2024. He also received First-Team All-Big 12 honors in 2025, while helping lead the Wildcats to back-to-back Sweet Sixteen appearances.
Love went undrafted in the 2025 NBA Draft, before signing as an free agent with the Portland Trail Blazers. He’s since carved out a key rotational spot under interim head coach Tiago Splitter. Through the All-Star break, Love has appeared in 45 games, averaging 11.3 points. He credits Arizona and head coach Tommy Lloyd for the early success he is having.
“I thank Tommy a lot because he kind of runs a NBA-style offense with you know how fast paced it is, how heavy ball screens, and things like that. So I definitely give a lot of credit to him and the coaching staff with how they run things. And then as far as the player development side, that definitely translates from here to the league. And so I think this program and what Tommy is building, and what he’s built so far, is definitely going to help you get to the league, for sure.”
Even though Love no longer wears Arizona across his chest, that hasn’t stopped him from staying up-to-date on the Wildcats.
“I’ve been watching every game. Even if we sometimes have games on the same day, but I’m in the locker room before the game because I’m so invested in it, and I’m so happy to see the start that we’ve had. But yeah, at halftime I’m checking my phone to see what the score is. So, I’m definitely invested in, when I left Arizona, this is, this is always gonna be home.”
Caleb Love is just the 35th player in program history to have his name hang in the Ring of Honor. He is also the third inductee under Coach Lloyd, joining Bennedict Mathurin (2020-22) and Christian Koloko (2019-22)