It’s only right that Caleb Love will be honored on a day built for love.
The former Arizona guard is set to be inducted into the Wildcats’ Ring of Honor during halftime of Saturday’s matchup between No. 1 Arizona and No.
16 Texas Tech. The ceremony lands on Valentine’s Day - a fitting twist of fate for a player whose name and game left a lasting impression in Tucson.
Love will become the 35th men’s basketball player to have his name lifted into the McKale Center rafters, and notably, the third to do so under head coach Tommy Lloyd.
“I think this is a really cool thing, Caleb has a special place in my heart,” Lloyd said Thursday. “For Caleb Love to be inducted in the Ring of Honor on Valentine’s Day, which just happens to be the date the state of Arizona was officially founded, on Feb. 14, 1912, that’s a lot.”
Love’s impact on the program was immediate and undeniable. After transferring to Arizona, he made the most of his two seasons in Tucson, headlined by a stellar 2023-24 campaign that earned him Pac-12 Player of the Year honors. That season, he averaged 18 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game, helping lead the Wildcats to a Pac-12 regular season title in what would be their final year in the conference.
But Love didn’t just put up numbers - he delivered moments. Big ones.
Clutch ones. The kind that fans in McKale will be talking about for years.
Chief among them? His jaw-dropping 60-foot buzzer-beater against Iowa State to force overtime - a shot that felt more like a scene from a sports movie than a college basketball game.
That moment alone could’ve earned him a spot in Wildcat lore, but Love brought so much more.
Over his two-year run with Arizona, Love averaged 17.6 points per game and knocked down 190 three-pointers - tied for the eighth-most in school history. His 98 threes in the 2024-25 season tied for fifth-most in a single season, showcasing both his volume and efficiency as a long-range threat.
Love’s Ring of Honor induction isn’t just a celebration of stats. It’s a recognition of leadership, of clutch performances, and of a player who embraced the pressure that comes with wearing an Arizona jersey. He arrived with expectations and left with a legacy - one that now takes its rightful place in the rafters above McKale Center.
Come Saturday, when the lights dim and the crowd rises, Caleb Love will join the legends. And on Valentine’s Day no less - a poetic tribute to a player who gave his heart to the program and left it all on the court.