LUCAS: THE WINDMILL...
Caleb Love was talking to his father, Dennis, during the past week when the conversation turned to other highlights around college basketball.
Jaden Ivey, the talented guard from Purdue, had recently shown off a windmill dunk during game action.
"I'm going to do that," Love told his father.
So when the sophomore guard got a first half steal and had plenty of open court in front of him against Elon on Saturday night, there was no question what his dunk of choice would be. He converted the windmill easily, a dunk it's not unusual to see during pickup or before practice, but one that isn't often broken out in game action. You wouldn't need more than two hands to count the number of in-game Tar Heel windmills in the last two decades. Do you know how difficult it is to do that dunk? Just because he made it look simple--at 6-foot-4, don't forget--doesn't mean that it's easy.
"I had to show a little athleticism," Love said. "I haven't done that since high school, so I wanted to pull that out."
Love's athleticism has never been in question since his arrival on campus last summer. Prior to the season, forecasting that he would convert a windmill dunk at some point this season wouldn't have been entirely misguided.
But if you'd predicted this line—22 points, 7-for-14 from the field, 4-for-7 from the three-point line, three steals—you'd have raised some eyebrows. Through nine games, Love is shooting 43.2 percent from three and 45.1 percent from the field, both dramatic jumps over his freshman numbers. He is not the prototypical Carolina point guard, but maybe he doesn't have to be.
As good as his offensive numbers look right now, it's his play defensively that is more notable. Hubert Davis challenged Love to be the best defender in the conference. He's not there yet, but he significantly impacted the game on defense against Elon. His windmill dunk was created by a steal. In the second half, he got in the passing lane to create a deflection, then dove on the floor to save it on the sideline.
Love was credited with three steals and had a major hand in another one that went to Leaky Black, and he now has a team-high 14 for the season. He looks like he's playing more instinctively on both ends, and the results are undeniable. His only complaint?
"Man, I keep on being stuck on 22," he said as he walked out of the locker room Saturday night. The win over Elon marks his fourth 22-point performance this season; the Tar Heels are now 6-0 in his career when he scores at least 20.
His stat line wasn't perfect, as he tied his season high with four turnovers. But he's not the only Tar Heel who walks away from Saturday's uneven showing displeased with at least one aspect of his game.
Hubert Davis' first words in his postgame Tar Heel Sports Network interview with Jones Angell summarized it neatly: "I'm very frustrated."
Welcome to post-exam basketball, everybody. This isn't the first or the last time that a Carolina team will struggle coming out of a weeklong layoff with minimal basketball activity. Saturday's result simply means Davis will have a full menu of items to emphasize when the Tar Heels reconvene on Sunday afternoon for practice.
It both says a lot about Love's improvement and gives you a picture of the halting flow of the Elon game that Love might have also had the second-most dynamic play of the night…and it was a missed dunk. In the second half, he exploded from the baseline, took off from a generous distance, and very nearly slammed it home one-handed over a defender.
"I might hear about that," he said with a grin. "I took off a little far."
But then he issued a warning, one that probably should be taken seriously given his proclivity for calling his shot:
"I'll get it next time."
Caleb Love was talking to his father, Dennis, during the past week when the conversation turned to other highlights around college basketball.
Jaden Ivey, the talented guard from Purdue, had recently shown off a windmill dunk during game action.
"I'm going to do that," Love told his father.
So when the sophomore guard got a first half steal and had plenty of open court in front of him against Elon on Saturday night, there was no question what his dunk of choice would be. He converted the windmill easily, a dunk it's not unusual to see during pickup or before practice, but one that isn't often broken out in game action. You wouldn't need more than two hands to count the number of in-game Tar Heel windmills in the last two decades. Do you know how difficult it is to do that dunk? Just because he made it look simple--at 6-foot-4, don't forget--doesn't mean that it's easy.
"I had to show a little athleticism," Love said. "I haven't done that since high school, so I wanted to pull that out."
Love's athleticism has never been in question since his arrival on campus last summer. Prior to the season, forecasting that he would convert a windmill dunk at some point this season wouldn't have been entirely misguided.
But if you'd predicted this line—22 points, 7-for-14 from the field, 4-for-7 from the three-point line, three steals—you'd have raised some eyebrows. Through nine games, Love is shooting 43.2 percent from three and 45.1 percent from the field, both dramatic jumps over his freshman numbers. He is not the prototypical Carolina point guard, but maybe he doesn't have to be.
As good as his offensive numbers look right now, it's his play defensively that is more notable. Hubert Davis challenged Love to be the best defender in the conference. He's not there yet, but he significantly impacted the game on defense against Elon. His windmill dunk was created by a steal. In the second half, he got in the passing lane to create a deflection, then dove on the floor to save it on the sideline.
Love was credited with three steals and had a major hand in another one that went to Leaky Black, and he now has a team-high 14 for the season. He looks like he's playing more instinctively on both ends, and the results are undeniable. His only complaint?
"Man, I keep on being stuck on 22," he said as he walked out of the locker room Saturday night. The win over Elon marks his fourth 22-point performance this season; the Tar Heels are now 6-0 in his career when he scores at least 20.
His stat line wasn't perfect, as he tied his season high with four turnovers. But he's not the only Tar Heel who walks away from Saturday's uneven showing displeased with at least one aspect of his game.
Hubert Davis' first words in his postgame Tar Heel Sports Network interview with Jones Angell summarized it neatly: "I'm very frustrated."
Welcome to post-exam basketball, everybody. This isn't the first or the last time that a Carolina team will struggle coming out of a weeklong layoff with minimal basketball activity. Saturday's result simply means Davis will have a full menu of items to emphasize when the Tar Heels reconvene on Sunday afternoon for practice.
It both says a lot about Love's improvement and gives you a picture of the halting flow of the Elon game that Love might have also had the second-most dynamic play of the night…and it was a missed dunk. In the second half, he exploded from the baseline, took off from a generous distance, and very nearly slammed it home one-handed over a defender.
"I might hear about that," he said with a grin. "I took off a little far."
But then he issued a warning, one that probably should be taken seriously given his proclivity for calling his shot:
"I'll get it next time."
