Will Wade has been busy in his first offseason as head coach for North Carolina State, reeling in one of the most talented transfer classes in the nation and potentially the best in the ACC. One of the bigs Wade landed in the portal was Ven-Allen Lubin, who spent the 2024-25 campaign with North Carolina. Lubin became the first player ever to transfer from UNC to NC State directly, and Wade put the Tar Heels on blast for not utilizing the new Wolfpack big during his time in Chapel Hill.
"The other school was too dumb to play him," Wade said. "When [Lubin] plays 28+ minutes - he's done that in 23 games - he averages 15 and 8. I don't know why the hell they didn't play him but we're going to play him, so he's going to average 15 and 8."
NEW: Will Wade takes shot at UNC, Hubert Davis over Ven Allen Lubin:
— On3 (@On3sports) June 15, 2025
“The other school was too dumb to play him. When [Lubin] plays 28+ minutes — he’s done that in 23 games — he averages 15 and 8. I don’t know why the hell they didn’t play him but we’re gonna play him, so he’s… pic.twitter.com/5wswfDkSNY
The New Wolfpack head coach is already fueling the in-state rivalry fire between UNC and NC State, and in a "hot seat" season for Heels head coach Hubert Davis, he's now getting lit up for not playing Lubin during his lone season at UNC.
The Tar Heels were one of the more disappointing programs last season, hardly squeaking into the NCAA Tournament after entering the 2024 preseason as the No. 9 team in the AP Poll.
Lubin averaged 8.7 points and 5.5 rebounds in 19.5 minutes of action for the Tar Heels.
If the former Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, and UNC big man can come in and be a heavy contributor for Wade and the Wolfpack, that won't look great on Davis' card after these comments from the new NC State leader.
NC State is bringing in the No. 30 overall transfer class per the On3 Transfer Portal Team Rankings, highlighted by former Texas Tech star Darrion Williams. Lubin was ranked as the No. 21 small forward in the portal.
It's still unclear how consistently good a team can be with a new head coach and a rotation built completely of transfers, but Wade and NC State have a chance to be a real contender in the ACC next season under its new reign. ESPN has the Wolfpack slotted at No. 24 in its current preseason rankings, one of four ACC schools seen in the poll along with Louisville (No. 7), Duke (No. 12), and UNC (No. 25).
Duke and Louisville are seen as the perennial favorites in the ACC next season, but NC State is right behind and could make some noise under Wade.