This spring, the Duke Blue Devils have had wins come from the transfer portal, multiple recruiting classes, and beyond as they look toward the upcoming 2025 season. Meanwhile, their rivals and fellow blue-bloods, the UNC Tar Heels, have taken quite a few losses this offseason.
Head coach Hubert Davis, who took over North Carolina following the retirement of legendary head coach Roy Williams, has fallen well short of the glory that Tar Heels have come to expect. Now, even Duke and head coach Jon Scheyer can get a good chuckle out of the struggles UNC is having.
Most recently, former North Carolina forward Ven-Allen Lubin hit the transfer portal, leaving the Tar Heels after just one season with the program.
Where did Lubin decide to transfer to this time around? Well, none other than NC State, just 30 minutes from Chapel Hill and the Tar Heels. While the NC State Wolfpack might not be a blue blood, losing a player to an in-state team is beyond embarrassing.
Even UNC fans have called the move a "slap in the face," as written by Keeping it Heel's site expert Nick Delahanty.
According to Noah Fleischman, an NC State beat reporter, Lubin is the first-ever former Tar Heel to transfer directly to the Wolfpack.
Ven-Allen Lubin 2024-25 season stats
- 37 games, 20 starts
- 8.7 points per game
- 5.5 rebounds per game
- 0.9 blocks per game
Lubin became a starter for the Tar Heels throughout the 2024-25 season, making the starting lineup in 20 of North Carolina's 37 games and playing in all of the team's matchups. Prior to playing for UNC, Lubin started his career with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish before transferring to play for the Vanderbilt Commodores and eventually the Tar Heels.
Coming out of high school, Lubin was a four-star prospect and retained the four-star status when he hit the transfer portal from UNC.
Currently, the Tar Heels have the nationally ranked No. 15 overall recruiting class of 2025. On the other hand, the Blue Devils have the No. 1 recruiting class in the country. Similarly, UNC has the No. 73 transfer portal class, with five players leaving and five players entering the program. Meanwhile, Scheyer lost just one bench player to the portal and gained a three-star transfer prospect.