Coach Gainey has convinced Ven-Allen Lubin to ride with the Wolfpack one more season where Ven had the best season of his career in ’25-’26. He logged career highs in:
- Average points
- Total points
- Field goal percentage (3rd in country, 1st in ACC)
- Total Field goals: total attempted and total made
- Average rebounds (12th in ACC)
- Average offensive rebounds (5th in ACC)
- Average defensive rebounds
- Total rebounds: total offensive and total defensive rebounds
- Average assists
- Total assists (more than double his previous high)
- Free throw percentage
- Total Free throws: total attempted (9th in ACC) and total made (10th in ACC)
Lubin was granted his eligibility by a Texas court on Friday 8/14; he is assured of playing this season.
VAL will immediately challenge for the start at center and whether he starts or not, will command 20+ minutes a game. While he played center all last season, he has the flexibility to bring the power to the power forward position,
if needed.
However, his strength is at center. He shot an elite 73.1% (166-227) under the basket (aka ‘Close 2PT’), but when he stepped back a little (aka ‘Far 2PT’) his shooting percentage dropped precipitously to 29.6% (8-27). And he was just 27.3% (3-11) from deep. Hopefully, Jurkovic fits comfortably backing up the forward spot.
VAL brings much needed high-level experience, scoring and rebounding to the front court and should elevate this team’s potential significantly. This is an excellent pickup.
Stats:
- Ht / Wt: 6’9” / 250 lbs
- Position: Forward / Center
- Experience: 4 seasons P4
- PPG / RPG / APG: 13.6 ppg / 7.1 rpg / 0.9 apg
- Shooting: 66.8% / 27.3% / 74.3%
’25-’26 season Highs:
- Points: 24 points, 5 games with 20+
- Rebounds: 12 rebounds (3x), 8 games with 10+
- Blocks: 4 blocks (2x)
- Other: shot at least 50% in all but 4 games, 8 double doubles
Background:
Ven is from Orlando FL and is a 4-star transfer and ranked #142 on 247.
- 2025-26: Started every game for the Wolfpack
- 2024-25: Started 20 of 37 for UNC, 8.7 ppg / 5.5 rpg / 0.9 blocks
- 2023-24: Started 26 of 26 for Vanderbilt, 12.3 ppg / 6.3 rpg / 1.0 blocks
- 2022-23: Started 7 of 28 for Notre Dame, 6.2 ppg / 4.4 rpg / 0.8 blocks
