The NCAA lost another courtroom battle. NC State may have won its season because of it.
Ven-Allen Lubin received a temporary restraining order protecting his fifth year of eligibility and subsequently decided to return to the Wolfpack. It is a late development that should force everyone to reconsider NC State entering the 2026-27 season.
A recent Duke Basketball Report article correctly described Lubin’s return as a major break for new coach Justin Gainey. That might actually undersell what happened.
Gainey had quietly assembled a talented backcourt, but his roster lacked a proven interior presence. Lubin immediately provides one.
NC State is no longer merely an intriguing collection of guards trying to survive up front. It now looks like the ACC’s most dangerous sleeper.
Ven-Allen Lubin was the piece NC State could not replace
Lubin averaged 13.6 points and 7.1 rebounds last season while shooting an absurd 66.8 percent from the field.
He was NC State’s most efficient player despite regularly being asked to function as an undersized center. At 6-foot-9 and 250 pounds, Lubin possesses the strength to battle traditional big men, but his mobility and finishing ability can become even more valuable when he is used at power forward.
That remains the ideal scenario for Gainey.
NC State has several bigger options, including 6-foot-11 Shah Hall, 6-foot-10 Kyle Evans and 6-foot-9, 260-pound Zymicah Wilkins. Robert Jurkovic and Eemeli Yalaho give Gainey additional frontcourt combinations to explore.
None of those players needs to become a star. NC State simply needs one or two of them to defend opposing centers, rebound and keep Lubin from absorbing every physical assignment around the basket.
If that happens, Lubin can return to terrorizing opponents as a powerful interior finisher rather than spending every possession wrestling with someone several inches taller.
He connected on better than 73 percent of his attempts near the rim last season. That efficiency gives Gainey a reliable source of offense that the Wolfpack did not have anywhere else in their frontcourt.
Justin Gainey has a backcourt built to surprise the ACC
Lubin’s return becomes even more significant because NC State already had guards capable of carrying an offense.
Paul McNeil Jr. is the headliner. The 6-foot-6 junior reportedly attracted interest from Kentucky, UConn, North Carolina and LSU before withdrawing from the portal and returning to Raleigh.
McNeil shot 42.7 percent from three last season and should enter the year as an All-ACC candidate. His combination of size and perimeter shooting gives Gainey a legitimate centerpiece.
Maryland transfer Darius Adams brings more scoring potential, while Hofstra transfer Preston Edmead can organize the offense. Christian Hammond, Jacari Brim and Boise State transfer R.J. Keene II add experience and lineup flexibility.
The concern was never whether NC State had enough guards. It was whether opponents could overwhelm the Wolfpack inside.
Lubin does not completely erase that question, but he provides a far more convincing answer than Gainey had one week ago.
Preseason expectations for NC State are now outdated
This is not a prediction that NC State will win the ACC. Duke, Louisville and several other programs possess deeper rosters and more established championship expectations.
The Wolfpack also have legitimate uncertainty. Gainey has never been a Division I head coach, much of the roster is new and the center rotation remains unsettled.
But preseason projections built before Lubin received another season are now useless.
NC State retained its best perimeter shooter and its most productive frontcourt player despite changing coaches. Gainey supplemented that returning foundation with an aggressive portal class and now has enough pieces to create difficult matchups on both ends.
Lubin also chose continuity after playing for Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, North Carolina and NC State in his first four seasons. For a roster undergoing major change, retaining a veteran who already understands the program could be as valuable as his scoring and rebounding.
The NCAA’s courtroom problems will continue to create chaos throughout college basketball. This particular ruling delivered Gainey exactly what his roster was missing.
NC State went into August looking unfinished.
It will leave August looking like the ACC team nobody should want to play.
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