Story from Brendan Marks of The Athletic
And so does North Carolina. That’s what makes Love’s trip to Chicago all the more interesting. He didn’t just get better there; UNC’s team did, because during Love’s workouts there, he got hooked up with a promising power forward who happened to know the area well: former Northwestern forward
Pete Nance. “I wasn’t even thinking about going back to school at all at that time,” Nance says. “Him and his dad were there, and they had kinda mentioned it to me, just in passing.” Nance participated in the G League combine, but didn’t earn an invite to the main event. Soon after, he announced his return to college, and that he’d be entering the transfer portal. Love, almost immediately, started his sales pitch.
“I knew that Love was definitely a big focal point of this team,” Nance says. “It definitely was appealing to me, to show that this guy, he wants to win — and he’s selfless to where he’s recruiting somebody else to the team.”
Nance’s official visit to North Carolina ultimately sold him on joining the nation’s No. 1 preseason team, but his familiarity with Love and that personal touch played a key role, too. .