North Carolina sophomore guard Caleb Love is finally living up to the heavy expectations he carried as a 5-star prospect coming into college.

Better late than never.

Love was a potential one-and-done prospect coming out of high school, but a disappointing freshman campaign in Chapel Hill necessitated another season.

So far, he’s taken full advantage of another chance to prove himself. This season, Love is averaging 16.9 points and 3.9 assists per game — both marked improvements over his freshman results. Perhaps more important is his shoot efficiency — he’s making 3-pointers at an elite volume of 43.2 percent per game.

He’s scored in double figures in eight of North Carolina’s nine games so far and has reached the 20-point threshold four times — something he achieved just twice all of last season.

The advanced numbers look good, too. Love has a true shooting percentage of 57.8 percent after turning in a mark of 41.7 percent last season. Despite a large increase in efficiency, Love’s usage rate has shrunk slightly from 25.9 percent to 24.1 percent.

Love is crediting his emergence to a renewed focus under new coach Hubert Davis.

“When Coach Davis got the job I told him that I’m going to give my all and I’m going to be better than I was last year,” told reporters on Saturday after North Carolina’s win over Elon. “That’s what I’m doing. I’m trying to be better each and every day, each and every game.”

Love scored 22 points against Elon, matching his season high. He needed just 14 shots to get there and made 4-of-7 3-point attempts.

Performances like that in ACC play should help Love to regain his NBA prospect status moving forward. There’s no one questioning his athleticism, which he showed off with this windmill dunk in transition vs. Elon on Saturday:

Love’s strong season so far has led North Carolina to a 7-2 record. The Tar Heels seem like a team that’s built for March — a veteran back court flanked with shooting up and down the roster.

A deep run in March for UNC would certainly help Love’s draft stock and complete the redemption arc for a player who — less than a year ago — looked lost at the collegiate level.

“I don’t feel like I have a ceiling,” Love said. “I feel like I’m going to keep going up. That’s just my confidence level right now.”

North Carolina faces Furman on Tuesday.