How NC State's Ven-Allen Lubin has embraced learning from constant trips in transfer portal

CHARLOTTE — Ven-Allen Lubin has grown accustomed to packing up his apartment to move elsewhere. His first three collegiate seasons have culminated in entering the transfer portal to look for a new home. Through that, the forward has become adaptable. There’s not much he hasn’t seen by now.  But this isn’t the path that Lubin saw himself taking. At first, he believed he’d spend his entire career at Notre Dame before Mike Brey was fired. His next stop, Vanderbilt, ended with Jerry Stackhouse being let go, creating another entry into college basketball’s free agency window.  And while he became North Carolina’s best player in the final 10 games last season, Lubin “wasn’t used properly, so he left,” as NC State coach Will Wade put it. That winding path led Lubin to the Wolfpack, the very program he averaged 8.5 points and 7.0 rebounds against with the Tar Heels.  As Lubin has navigated his journey through the sport he grew up in love with, he’s learned how to assimilate into the very different cultures he’s landed in. It was a challenge, at least at first, but the 6-foot-9, 250-pound big man has found a way to be successful in becoming a chameleon.