The North Carolina Tar Heels have some big shoes to fill in their lineup for the 2024-25 basketball season. Their frontcourt rotation was hit hard with Armando Bacot running out of eligibility and Harrison Ingram expected to remain in the 2024 NBA Draft.
Looking to fill that void, the North Carolina Tar Heels were aggressive on the transfer portal. They were in the mix for Oumar Ballo, Clifford Omoruyi and Jonas Aidoo, but were unable to lock down commitments from any of them. UNC remains in the mix for Coleman Hawkins, but he is going through the NBA Draft process as well.
Despite so many misses, the North Carolina Tar Heels were finally able to lock down a big man on Thursday morning. According to Jeff Borzello of ESPN, they have received a commitment from former Vanderbilt Commodores big man, Ven-Allen Lubin.
Lubin was one of the best bigs left in the transfer portal and will provide the Tar Heels with some stability in their frontcourt. This is the second time that he has transferred in as many years, as he was at Notre Dame before landing at Vanderbilt last season.
With the Commodores, Lubin had a breakout 2023-24 season. He averaged 12.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game but really came on at the end of the season. In matchups against Florida and Arkansas, he had a 25-point, 11-rebound performance and a 21-and-10 game.
Down the stretch, he recorded a double-double in three out of nine games and upped his averages to 16.2 points and 7.7 rebounds. He will have a chance to be a starter for the North Carolina Tar Heels, who have only Jae’Lyn Withers and Jalen Washinton returning as frontcourt players.
With RJ Davis returning to Chapel Hill for another season, Hubert Davis’s lineup is starting to round into shape. The Tar Heels will likely open the season as a top-10 team unless something drastic changes in the next few months.
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