The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1546417
10 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY NOAH FLEISCHMAN S hortly after Justin Gainey was in- stalled as the 22nd men's basketball head coach in NC State's storied his- tory this past April, he crossed paths a few times with power forward Ven-Allen Lubin inside the Dail Basketball Center. Their spring interactions were more about building a relationship as a pair of former Wolfpack players than anything else. Gainey, who is set to embark on the first head coaching job of his two-de- cade-long career, wanted to get Lubin's perspective on his own Wolfpack expe- rience. The well-traveled post player spent time at Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, North Carolina and NC State through- out his career, so Gainey was interested to get Lubin's take as he reflected on the differences around college basketball. Gainey, of course, told Lubin he was always going to be a resource for him moving forward — even if he never played for him. "You've got Wolfpack blood in you," Gainey recalled telling Lubin, "and I want you to call this home." Fast-forward just over four months later, and Lubin is back inside the Wolf- pack's facility. But this time, instead of training for whatever professional op- portunities were to come about, the big man is on NC State's roster again, having benefited from a Texas court ruling that granted him a fifth year of eligibility after he announced his commitment Aug. 15. While Gainey saved two roster spots for a scenario like this — veteran talent sud- denly becoming available late in the pro- cess — he wasn't going to add a player just for the sake of filling a vacancy. It had to be the right person, someone who made sense in the bigger picture of his hard- working, team-first culture in Raleigh. Gainey was entirely comfortable with bringing Lubin into the fold after getting T R A C K I N G THE THE PACK PACK Ven-Allen Lubin's Surprise Ven-Allen Lubin's Surprise Return Fills A Need Return Fills A Need In his first season with the Wolfpack, Lubin averaged a career-best 13.6 points per game and led the ACC with a 66.8 percent shooting mark. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS