University of North Carolina Athletics
Photo by: Maggie Hobson
Lucas: Lubin Ready To Make Impact
October 25, 2024 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
The Tar Heel newcomer is excited about showing off his maturation on and off the court.
By Adam Lucas
Ven-Allen Lubin has spent most of his interview talking about energy. He talks about outfighting bigger players, and playing with energy, and being a dawg—that's d-a-w-g, not d-o-g. You understand the difference.
His eyes widen when he talks about dominating the offensive glass. He gets excited talking about shutting down an opposing big man.
So it's a little unexpected, then, when the conversation turns to what he enjoys away from basketball.
"I'm into meditation," he says. "I like to go on walks and try to grow my spiritual faith. I've started getting into painting and drawing. That also puts my mind at peace and helps me step away from sports."
Can you be a dawg and meditate at the same time?
Ven-Allen Lubin can. The transfer already has extensive big-time college basketball experience. He's played in the Atlantic Coast Conference with Notre Dame during his first year in college (although an ankle sprain kept him from playing in the Smith Center that season, when the Tar Heels beat the Irish on Jan. 7). He played for former Tar Heel Jerry Stackhouse last season at Vanderbilt. And now he's at Carolina, where he still speaks overwhelmingly positively of his previous two experiences but has also gained a fast appreciation for the differences in being a college basketball player…and a Carolina basketball player.
"As a kid, you always follow these types of high level schools," Lubin says. "You always hear about them. But I had never focused in on what it really took for players to be this great and the sacrifices they make…Learning about Carolina has been a perspective shift. This is Carolina Basketball. They are great, but they also do a lot of great things nobody talks about. How they play, the pace of play, the aggressiveness, it's pro level. The passion they have to get better and to play with high energy, and the discipline they have is different."
After entering the transfer portal in the spring, Lubin had extensive conversations with Hubert Davis and Sean May about where he might fit for the Tar Heels. Their vision aligned with his, and he understood Carolina had minutes available in the post (you can see the contenders for the post rotation during Sunday's exhibition game against Johnson C. Smith at 2 p.m. in the Smith Center--the game IS on the season ticket package, so if you have season tickets and parking you already have entry to Sunday's game).
That's a good arrangement for the 6-foot-8, 230-pound junior.
"I rely on the talent God gave me to be down low and be versatile and athletic," he says. "I like to get to the rim, and I can also face up and shoot the pull-up. I can step out to the three and shoot it. I want to be an unguardable player. With guys like RJ and Cade, we have that on the outside. We will be lethal if I play my game down low."
Lubin sounds uncannily similar to his fellow Carolina newcomers when he talks about his potential contributions for this season. He doesn't speak in terms of minutes or shots. He talks only about winning.
He never played in the NCAA Tournament during his first two seasons, and is intent on experiencing the postseason this year. It's easy to see how he would have made a fast connection with Hubert Davis during the accelerated portal recruiting process.
"There's only one thing that matters to me: to be an impactful player," Lubin says. "No matter how that is, I want to leave the gym and say I made an impact today. Whether that's scoring, rebounding, blocking shots, talking, anything that can impact the game. I'm not a stats guy…When you're focused on individual goals, you're pushing away the team goals. When you're more of a team guy, you want everybody to be satisfied and fulfilled by the results and that also satisfies you. I want all my guys to win. That's really important."
Ven-Allen Lubin has spent most of his interview talking about energy. He talks about outfighting bigger players, and playing with energy, and being a dawg—that's d-a-w-g, not d-o-g. You understand the difference.
His eyes widen when he talks about dominating the offensive glass. He gets excited talking about shutting down an opposing big man.
So it's a little unexpected, then, when the conversation turns to what he enjoys away from basketball.
"I'm into meditation," he says. "I like to go on walks and try to grow my spiritual faith. I've started getting into painting and drawing. That also puts my mind at peace and helps me step away from sports."
Can you be a dawg and meditate at the same time?
Ven-Allen Lubin can. The transfer already has extensive big-time college basketball experience. He's played in the Atlantic Coast Conference with Notre Dame during his first year in college (although an ankle sprain kept him from playing in the Smith Center that season, when the Tar Heels beat the Irish on Jan. 7). He played for former Tar Heel Jerry Stackhouse last season at Vanderbilt. And now he's at Carolina, where he still speaks overwhelmingly positively of his previous two experiences but has also gained a fast appreciation for the differences in being a college basketball player…and a Carolina basketball player.
"As a kid, you always follow these types of high level schools," Lubin says. "You always hear about them. But I had never focused in on what it really took for players to be this great and the sacrifices they make…Learning about Carolina has been a perspective shift. This is Carolina Basketball. They are great, but they also do a lot of great things nobody talks about. How they play, the pace of play, the aggressiveness, it's pro level. The passion they have to get better and to play with high energy, and the discipline they have is different."
After entering the transfer portal in the spring, Lubin had extensive conversations with Hubert Davis and Sean May about where he might fit for the Tar Heels. Their vision aligned with his, and he understood Carolina had minutes available in the post (you can see the contenders for the post rotation during Sunday's exhibition game against Johnson C. Smith at 2 p.m. in the Smith Center--the game IS on the season ticket package, so if you have season tickets and parking you already have entry to Sunday's game).
That's a good arrangement for the 6-foot-8, 230-pound junior.
"I rely on the talent God gave me to be down low and be versatile and athletic," he says. "I like to get to the rim, and I can also face up and shoot the pull-up. I can step out to the three and shoot it. I want to be an unguardable player. With guys like RJ and Cade, we have that on the outside. We will be lethal if I play my game down low."
Lubin sounds uncannily similar to his fellow Carolina newcomers when he talks about his potential contributions for this season. He doesn't speak in terms of minutes or shots. He talks only about winning.
He never played in the NCAA Tournament during his first two seasons, and is intent on experiencing the postseason this year. It's easy to see how he would have made a fast connection with Hubert Davis during the accelerated portal recruiting process.
"There's only one thing that matters to me: to be an impactful player," Lubin says. "No matter how that is, I want to leave the gym and say I made an impact today. Whether that's scoring, rebounding, blocking shots, talking, anything that can impact the game. I'm not a stats guy…When you're focused on individual goals, you're pushing away the team goals. When you're more of a team guy, you want everybody to be satisfied and fulfilled by the results and that also satisfies you. I want all my guys to win. That's really important."
🎥 The Intro: Ven-Allen Lubin#CarolinaFamily pic.twitter.com/chdaqFb8V9
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) October 25, 2024
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