Ven-Allen Lubin enters the transfer portal but intends to stay at North Carolina

As expected, the offseason has been a very busy one for the UNC basketball program. With a lot of moving parts (both incoming and outgoing), we all expected North Carolina's roster to look a lot different by the start of the 2025-2026 season.

One of the most intriguing players we've waited to hear from is Ven-Allen Lubin. An undersized big man at 6-foot-8, Lubin joined the Tar Heels as a transfer from Vanderbilt before the start of last season. He became an integral part of the UNC basketball program's rotation, ultimately becoming the team's starting center.

In fact, you could make the case that Lubin was the Tar Heels' best player down the final stretch of the season, finishing the year with 11 consecutive double-digit scoring performances. Of those 11 games, Lubin recorded four double-doubles, really setting the tone in the post for the UNC basketball program.

The goal of the offseason for North Carolina was to add size, and they did just that. With the addition of Arizona transfer Henri Veesaar (a 7-foot, 235-pound presence), many speculated as to what that would mean for Lubin's future with the Tar Heels, an answer that we now know for sure.

Lubin has entered his name into the transfer portal, but there's a catch.

As Jeff Goodman reported, this is a business move for Ven-Allen Lubin. He intends to stay at North Carolina but is keeping his options open from the potential issues post-House settlement makes a lot of sense.

While we all panicked that Ven-Allen Lubin was entering the transfer portal, we can all breathe a sigh of relief (for now), that the plan remains the same: Ven-Allen Lubin plans on finishing his collegiate career as a Tar Heel.