UNC basketball forward Ven-Allen Lubin / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Following a series of swing-and-miss pursuits in the transfer portal last year, Hubert Davis and his UNC basketball program finally reeled in the services of Ven-Allen Lubin to come and man the middle in Chapel Hill.

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The 6-foot-8, 230-pound junior was a bit undersized compared to the legion of 7-footers that Davis and his crew were trying to land. Even so, some UNC basketball fans hoped Lubin could fill the gap left by the departure of Armando Bacot.

After spending a year at Notre Dame and later becoming a full-time starter at Vanderbilt, the 21-year-old had a slow start to the season, both in playing time and production, before becoming a regular starter and key contributor in the Heels' run to the NCAA Tournament.

Across 37 appearances and 27 starts, Lubin managed to average 8.7 points and 5.5 rebounds per game on 68.4 percent shooting from the field. But it was his end-of-year stretch that was most outstanding, with the third-year collegian averaging 13.6 points and 7.1 rebounds over the last 11 outings.

Ven-Allen Lubin has made comments suggesting that he would like to spend his final collegiate season running it back with UNC basketball, so it's quite possible his role will expand considerably moving into the 2025-26 season.