Welcome to the Preseason – Basketball practice officially starts in 5 days, September 21st.
We’re counting down the 10 days to the beginning of practice ’26-‘27 by taking another look at this season’s roster, focusing on the 10 players most likely to make an impact. This article is about Coach Gainey’s last player signed this season, and one of the most important, Ven Lubin.
Predicted breakdown of minutes per player:
#22 Ven-Allen Lubin
Ven is a fifth year senior at his fourth school. He was initially recruited to Notre Dame. After his freshman year his coach retired, so he transferred to Vanderbilt. After his sophomore
year his coach got fired, so he transferred to UNC. After his junior season in Chapel Hill, he transferred (aka ’escaped’) to NC State for his senior season. After his senior season, the coach quit, he decided to transfer and use the legal system to try and get another season. Coach Gainey stayed in touch with Ven during the process and made sure he knew we wanted him back. Once he got his temporary restraining order, he recommitted to NC State.
- Ht / Wt: 6’9” / 250
- Position: Forward / Center
- PPG / RPG / APG: 13.6 ppg / 7.1 rpg / 0.8 apg
- Shooting: 66.8% / 27.3% (3-11) / 74.3%
’25-’26 season Highs:
- Points: 24 points, 6 games 20+, 27 games scoring in double figures
- Rebounds: 12 rebounds (3x), 13 games with 9+ rebounds
- 8 double-doubles
- Blocked shots: 4 blocks (2x)
Strength
- Ven was outstanding at scoring. If you got the ball inside to him, he would score or get fouled
- If he didn’t score, he was in the 85th percentile in free throw shooting
- He did not turn the ball over
Weakness
- Assists – Ven didn’t pass often, but that was not his job
Strength
- Very good defensive rebounder
- In the 85th percentile in blocked shots
Weakness
- He did not steal the ball often
Strength
- As you would expect for a good center, his points in the paint, 2nd chance points, FG% and 2PT% are outstanding
Weakness
- As you would expect from a center, he did not lead the fast break often, and he did not take many 3PT shots
- Ven does not get as vertical as he’d like, which results in some of his shots getting rejected
Shot Chart
Everything you want to know about Ven-Allen Lubin’s offensive game is summed up in this heat map. 95.2% of his made baskets were point blank (what Torvik calls ‘dunks’ or ‘close 2PT’). 3.5% of his makes were ‘far 2PT’, and 1.3% were 3PT shots.
Assistant Coach Driscoll
“Amazing human being, really competes”
Rich Howell
“He knows how to play the game”
Coach Gainey
“He’s an unbelievable young man, very mature, high character, you just like being around him.” “He’s a guy who’s been through the league and knows what it is all about and what it takes to win games.”
Legal Note: The NCAA continues to challenge the temporary restraining orders (TRO) that have allowed college players an extra season, and have won several. Ven Lubin’s availability rests on his TRO staying in place for the season.
Expectations – Ven has played 4 seasons of high-quality ball, and last season was his best season yet. He logged career highs in points, FG% (3rd in country), rebounds, assists, and free throw percentage.
Each season was in a power 4 conferences (1 SEC, 3 ACC), making him the player with the most (125 games) and best experience on the team. And that is ideal for a team whose center’s (including Evans, Hall, Jurkovic) have zero P4 experience. Practicing against Ven, and competing with him for playing time, should bring out the best in them.
He’s spent the most time at center, but Coach Gainey has hinted that we will see him on the floor paired with Evans at times this season.
Assuming that happens, Ven will benefit the forwards as well. Wilkins has no experience, and while Yalaho did play one full season and a partial for Texas Tech, he only bloomed once the competition was easier last season at Washington State.
In short, Ven is exactly what the doctor ordered for the Pack’s front court. And all the coaches have talked about what a quality individual he is, and a hard worker in practice, that’s a great model for the entire team.
So, what is he going to look like offensively on the court as a combo center/forward?
He’s going to look like a center. Looking at his shot breakdown over the last four seasons, he’s never taken less than 73% of his made shots from point blank range. (Torvik’s ‘dunks’ plus ‘close 2PT’) In fact, over the course of his four seasons, 87.3% of his made baskets were from point blank range, 10% from ‘far 2PT’, and 2.7% from 3PT. That will not change this season. He’s not going to wander around the countryside tossing shots, he’s going to the rim.
As an offensive rebounder, he ranked 5th in the ACC at 2.9 per game. That ranked him in the 95th percentile of centers nationally.
What should we expect defensively?
Ven is a very physical player, exactly what Coach Gainey wants. He has a high basketball IQ, and coupled with four season’s experience, you have a difficult, one-on-one matchup.
Defensive rebounding – Ven ranked 11th in the ACC in defensive rebounds. His average of 4.2 per game put him in in the 85th percentile of centers nationally.
Blocked shots – Ven blocked 4% of opponent shots. This ranked him in the 85th percentile of all players, and 66th percentile of centers. When Evans and Lubin are playing together, it’s going to be rough sledding for the opposing big men at the rim.
What we don’t know is, if/when he plays forward, is he quick enough? Can he keep up with agile forwards? Is he going to be able to guard the 3PT shooter and recover to the basket for a rebound? I think the answer is, depends on the player. He should be able to handle all but the tallest and most athletic.
I’m not 100% convinced he will play this season (NCAA scum!), but if he does, he will give us 25 (ish) minutes of high efficiency play every game. He will be one of our best, most reliable players and we will win more games with him, than without. If he doesn’t play, let’s hope we get as much practice time from him as possible. He’s an excellent example.
