Did you know there’s an actual itinerary for chasing a dream?
Thirty-day span.
Thirteen workouts with NBA teams.
Twenty nights on the road.
“It’s been hectic, traveling city to city, and then coming back to Chicago, getting a couple workouts in — and traveling to the next city,” Caleb Love said. “It’s been crazy.”
Washington Arizona Basketball
Arizona guard Caleb Love reacts to a play during the first half Feb. 24 against Washington in Tucson, Ariz. Rick Scuteri, Associated Press
The St. Louis native Love, 23, dreamed of playing in the NBA during his time at CBC, such as when he made the McDonald’s All-American Game. And during his time at North Carolina, such as when he hit the famous Final Four shot to end Duke’s year and Mike Krzyzewski’s career. And during his time at Arizona, such as when he was the 2024 conference player of the year.
And now, the dream is in plan form. Just like dozens of other NBA prospects this summer, Love is crisscrossing the country to interview and work out with teams. The draft, circle your calendar, is June 25. Now, the pre-draft process can be painstaking and painful, deflating and, at certain times for certain players, defeating. But Love is eternally optimistic — his mom, after all, wouldn’t let him be anything else.
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The 6-foot-4 guard Love is ranked No. 75 on ESPN’s Top-100 NBA Draft list, one spot behind a namesake with another Missouri connection — former Mizzou guard Caleb Grill. There are just two rounds in the NBA Draft. Sixty picks. Though, some undrafted players sign on with teams, perhaps for the Vegas Summer League or fall training camp. That’s what happened with Centreville, Illinois, native Jordan Goodwin, who starred at St. Louis U. This NBA season, he was in the Los Angeles Lakers’ rotation.
And another local guard — St. Louis native and former Billiken Yuri Collins — went undrafted, plays in the G-League and logged two games with the Golden State Warriors.
“I don’t think about the negatives, or me not being drafted, or things like that,” said Love, who lives this summer in Chicago, where he works out with trainers from his agency, Priority Sports. “Whatever God has got for me, that’s the plan that I’ll rock with. I only can control what I can control. I can’t control where I get picked. I just have to control every workout in every spot that I go, to make the best impression possible to help myself.”
The NBA pre-draft travel can be as bonkers as, well, an NBA season. While traveling, Love even wears Normatec Recovery Boots, which are like wearable masseuses (“They rejuvenate my legs,” Love said). He cherishes rest time —maximizes rest. And while at the different NBA facilities, he’ll utilize any amenities, notably cold tubs and hot tubs.
The workouts are, essentially, job interviews. Though there is quite a bit of working out, too. Players go through a process the tests their conditioning, as well as their basketball skills.
“Teams just want to see how you carry yourself as a professional and how you move around under pressure,” Love said. “And when you’re tired, how you carry yourself on the court. … And they’ll interview you with certain questions about your journey, your upbringing, what can you bring to a team, things like that.”
So, what can you bring to a team?
“I think first and foremost, I think I’m versatile,” said Love, who averaged 17.2 points per game, 4.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.2 steals this past season for Arizona. “I think I can come in and be a great defender — I think that’s going to be my calling card coming into the league. I feel like you see these NBA Finals, you’ve got guys like (Indiana’s) Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, (Oklahoma City’s) Lu Dort, Alex Caruso, guys like that, that pick up full-court, make it disruptive on the defensive end.”
Indeed, Nembhard was a second-round pick, while Dort and Caruso went undrafted.
“And then on offense,” Love said, “you just have to knock down open shots. Obviously, my game is more than just catch-and-shoot, but I think as my role expands, and as I get on the floor, I can show my full offensive game.”
Caleb’s dad, Dennis Love, was his childhood coach. Love said some of those youth workouts with dad were particularly tough, but Dennis “was pushing me to be the best version of myself. … He built me up to the person that I am, not only as a basketball player, but as an individual, as well.”
And as for Love’s mother, Alecia Thompson, “she just always has been my right hand,” Love said. “She’s always been there for me. She’s my spirit person. She kind of keeps me sane. She always has a better outlook on life and my situations that I’ve been in than I do. Maybe if I’m worried or have a doubt, she kind of shuts it down and always says: ‘There’s light at the end of the tunnel.’ Something that we harp on is our faith and leaning on our faith. She’s always just been that supportive person for me. And, you know, I always go to her for anything. That’s kind of like my best friend, really.”
At Arizona, Love bonded with his head coach, Tommy Lloyd, who made one heck of a first impression — during Love’s official visit, Lloyd was on vacation with his family, but left the vacation for a day, just to be there for Love’s visit. And assistant coach Rem Bakamus instilled optimal confidence inside Love — “and I think that’s why I had a lot of success in college,” Love said, “just not being afraid of the moment, not shying away from the moment. And stepping up in those big-game, big-time situations.”
Love is equipped, it seems, for this next journey — that being the dream-chasing. And so, he’s off to Charlotte on Monday. And Houston on Tuesday. And so on ... until that fateful June night.
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