Report: North Carolina-Michigan, Florida-Oklahoma headlining inaugural Jumpman Invitational

The battle for Michael Jordan’s adoration is getting an invitational. On Monday, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports and FanDuel revealed that the first ever Jumpman Invitational will take place in 2022. The event will feature the original four Jordan Brand schools — North Carolina, Michigan, Florida and Oklahoma.

“North Carolina will play Michigan and Oklahoma will face Florida in the first ever Jumpman Invitational, multiple sources told FanDuel,” wrote Rothstein. “The game between Oklahoma and Florida is expected to be played on Dec. 20th while the game between North Carolina and Michigan is expected to be played on Dec. 21st, according to a separate source.”

Continuing, Rothstein writes that the event will take place at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. Of course, the arena is the home of the Charlotte Hornets, the NBA franchise owned by Jordan.

All four programs have big dreams for the 2022-23 season. North Carolina and Michigan are seeing some of their biggest stars return for another season after fantastic runs in the 2022 NCAA Tournament, while Oklahoma and Florida are looking to find their footing under young head coaches.

The stars will certainly be out, and the Jumpman Invitational will be a lot of fun in December. Every player involved in the event will be looking to Be Like Mike.

Caleb Love returning to North Carolina for 2022-23 season

Moreover, North Carolina’s Caleb Love announced on Sunday afternoon in a post on his Twitter page that he’ll be coming back to school for another year. He joins a number of other Tar Heel stars that have decided to come back to UNC for another season.

Love was a key piece in guiding the Tar Heels to their 2022 NCAA Championship game appearance against the Kansas Jayhawks. He delivered an epic three-point dagger for the ages against the Duke Blue Devils in the Final Four. Coming out of high school, Love was one of the most coveted prospects in America. He was rated as a five-star prospect and the No. 4 point guard in the country, according to the On3 Consensus Rankings for the 2020 cycle.

Last season, Love averaged 15.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game for the Tar Heels. Much like high school, he’s proven to be one of the best point guards in America at the college level. The sophomore from St. Louis increased his three-point percentage this season from 26 percent to 36 percent.

Caleb Love evoked memories of Michael Jordan at times during North Carolina’s 2022 NCAA Tournament run. Now, he’ll return to the Tar Heels with a chance to show-out at the first ever Jumpman Invitational, among other big dreams.