Love responded with a stellar season at Arizona. He was Pac-12 player of the year and named an All-American. His fifth and final season was solid (17.2 points, 34 percent on 3’s), enough so that Love believed he would be drafted.
When he wasn’t, he retreated to his room and cried.
“It was tough, man. Like, everybody was there and it’s getting to like pick 45, and I’m just looking around … my parents aren’t really saying anything … it was real quiet. And once that last pick got called, and I obviously hadn’t been picked it was like … WOW.”