After Cliff Omoruyi committed to Alabama, Hubert Davis and the Tar Heels continued their search to replace Armando Bacot. While Jalen Washington doesn’t necessarily need a replacement, the front court requires experienced depth for a team that is heavy on guards and likely to lose Harrison Ingram.
Jack Morris identified potential targets for Carolina, and one has scheduled an official visit. According to Sherrell McMillan at Inside Carolina, Vanderbilt transfer Ven-Allen Lubin, who entered the transfer portal at the last minute, is now set to visit UNC. The Tar Heels reconsidered their options after Omoruyi’s decision and found Lubin to be a suitable fit.
Lubin ate a lot of minutes for Jerry Stackhouse’s last team at Vanderbilt, playing 28.2 a game for the Commodores. The 6’8” forward also shot 50% from the field, 33.3% from three, and had a 12.3 points per game average. He also averaged over six boards a game for Vanderbilt. It was a significant jump for the sophomore, as he only played 17.4 minutes and averaged 6.2 points a game during the 2022-23 season, his first in college.
That sort of progression plus the experience of playing at a power five level against some power schools in the SEC would seem to make him a good fit for Carolina. at 6’8” he would still be a little short for the “five,” but it would give Davis some options in the front court where he could still rotate Washington in and out. He hit a season high of 25 points twice during the 2024 season, and scored in double digits 11 times in the last 13 games. During that span he also had four double-doubles.
Lubin is expected to visit on Tuesday, and will visit a campus that will be pretty quiet as commencement just happened this past weekend. It should still allow for some good one-on-one time, as well as time with any players still around Chapel Hill and potentially any newly crowned graduates to extol on the virtues of playing in Chapel Hill.
The news is a reminder that while the Tar Heels didn’t get some of the first players they went after, there is still plenty of time and are plenty of players available. With a the depth in the backcourt, someone coming into the front court has a chance to make a real impact.
