After Cliff Omoruyi committed to Alabama, Hubert Davis and the Tar Heels resumed their search to replace Armando Bacot. Jalen Washington does not need to be replaced, but the front court requires some veteran depth for a club that is well guarded and will most likely be missing Harrison Ingram as well.
Jack Morris suggested some potential targets for Carolina, and one of them has decided to schedule an official visit.
According to Sherrell McMillan of Inside Carolina, Vanderbilt transfer Ven-Allen Lubin has selected a date for his official visit. Lubin hadn’t been on UNC’s radar because he decided to join the portal at the last possible second. With the Omoruvi decision, the Tar Heels had to reconsider the portal, and Lubin seemed like a good fit.
Lubin played a lot of minutes for Jerry Stackhouse’s last team at Vanderbilt, averaging 28.2 per game. The 6’8″ forward also shot 50% from the field and 33.3% from three, averaging 12.3 points a game. He also averaged over six rebounds per game for Vanderbilt.
It was a tremendous improvement for the sophomore, who only played 17.4 minutes and averaged 6.2 points per game during his first college season in 2022-23.
That type of improvement, along with experience playing at the power five level against some of the SEC’s major schools, appears to make him a solid fit for Carolina. At 6’8″, he would still be a little short for the “five,” but it would provide Davis with some front-court choices, allowing him to rotate Washington in and out. He had a season high of 25 points twice in 2024 and scored in double digits 11 times in the last 13 games. During that time, he also recorded four double-doubles.
Lubin is scheduled to visit on Tuesday and will see a campus that will be rather quiet given that commencement took place the previous weekend.
It should still provide for some quality one-on-one time, as well as time with any remaining players in Chapel Hill and possibly any newly minted graduates to extol the joys of playing in Chapel Hill.
The news serves as a reminder that, while the Tar Heels did not land some of the first players they pursued, there is still time and plenty of players available. With so much depth in the backcourt, anyone who comes into the frontcourt has a chance to have a significant impact.
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