San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Former Sacred Heart Cathedral standout guard Love dies at 41
It was a summer night in the early 2000s at Kezar Pavilion and, as usual, all the best and boldest showed up at the San Francisco ProAm League.
Tim Hardaway. Jason Kidd. Jason Richardson. Matt Barnes. Gilbert Arenas.
A local kid named Justin Love also showed up — and showed out, too.
“For some reason, Arenas had a little trouble with Justin and was jawing at him that night,” said LyRyan Russell, Love’s teammate at Sacred Heart Cathedral who, like his pal, played in college and then had a pro career overseas. “There was a turnover at midcourt, I got the ball and passed to Justin on left wing on a break.”
The only person between Love, a burly 6foot2 offguard, and the basket was Arenas.
“Justin went right at him,” Russell said Saturday. “They both took flight, went chesttochest and Justin slammed it home. I remember the crowd going hush, then going wild. It might have been the coolest thing I’ve ever seen on a basketball court.
“And with Justin, I saw a lot.”
Like an endless slideshow of photos swirling and dissolving, one on top of one another, Russell, now the Sacred Heart Cathedral girls basketball coach, can’t get Love out of his head. Or his heart. On Tuesday, Love was found unresponsive at Mascoutah (Ill.) High, a St. Louisarea school where he had coached boys basketball the past three years. He was rushed to an area hospital and pronounced dead. The cause of death has not yet been released.
At 41, he leaves a wife, three children, and countless friends and fans who gawked at his enormous basketball talent and cherished his infectious laugh and giving heart.
Love left his mark, from his SHC Hall of Fame athletic career to earning National Junior College AllAmerica honors (1998) at Cañada College to two standout seasons at St. Louis University under Lorenzo Romar to a brilliant 12year career overseas. He made the
Hall of Fame at St. Louis and was the alltime leading scorer in the Ukrainian Superleague and the 200405 Latvian League Player of the Year.
And basketball was just the half of it.
“He had a great sense of humor, was loved by all, and had a gentle soul,” said his Sacred Heart Cathedral coach, Tim Burke. “A great young man. They don’t get any better.”
Said Curtis Haggins, a 1996 Woodside graduate and teammate of Love at Cañada: “His content of character was beyond a class act. One of my favorite people in the world . ... He was a winner in every aspect of life and a fierce competitor.”
Russell can attest to that. He and Love played AAU ball since the eighth grade, and when Russell transferred from Washington to SHC in 1995, the Irish went 243 and won the West Catholic Athletic League championship.
Love averaged 20 points per game and was the MVP. Russell, the consummate point guard and AllLeague player who later was a standout at USF, knew how, when and where to get Love the ball.
Love “was a scoring machine,” Russell said. “He was the definition of a professional scorer. He could post you up. Take the 3. Midrange. He was sneaky athletic and very strong.”
Love wasn’t particularly chatty on the court, but he would get into teammates if they needed a boost, Russell said. “He had that Mamba mentality,” Russell said. “He’d give you that serious look to say ‘let’s Go.’ He didn’t have to say much, though. He was a silent assassin on the court.”
Love didn’t say anything to Arenas after the dunk.
“He didn’t have to,” Russell said. “Justin always said it with action and not words.”
Russell couldn’t muster any words after hearing of Love’s death. “It was a severe gut punch,” he said. “Over and over again.”
With COVID19 restrictions, services have not been announced for Love. His father, Charles, and mother, Gloria, are in St. Louis, and according to Russell, they plan to bring Love’s body back to the Bay Area.
“We had a strong bond on and off the court,” Russell said. “He was one of the most genuinely caring people I’ve ever known. He’ll be so missed by so many. But his legacy will live on forever.”