Early Monday afternoon, Notre Dame forward Ven-Allen Lubin announced his entry into the transfer portal. The news broke via Joe Tipton, National Recruiting Expert at On3. Lubin also tweeted the news on his own account.
“To the University of Notre Dame, thank you for this season of growth and thank you for being a supportive community. This past year has been filled with new experiences,” Lubin wrote in a tweet. “I am ready to find a new home that will allow me to grow and prosper as a basketball player, and that will allow me to maximize my ability to strive for a winning season with my teammates and coaches.”
A four-star recruit from Orlando, Florida, Lubin made the most of his opportunities during his first year. The 6-foot-8-inch big man battled injuries during ACC play but played in 28 games, starting seven. Improving as the year progressed, Lubin posted 6.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game at a 58% shooting clip. When Notre Dame’s roster thinned during the heart of conference action, the freshman stepped forward. He saw 20-plus minutes in five ACC contests and scored in double-figures each time.
At this point, all three members of Notre Dame men’s basketball’s 2022-23 freshman class have tested the portal waters. Five-star guard JJ Starling has already finalized a homecoming to Syracuse, while fellow big man Dom Campbell has moved on to Howard.
With graduate guard Cormac Ryan also having declared for the portal in tandem with the NBA draft, Notre Dame is on track to lose its top seven scorers from a season ago. For the moment, that leaves newly minted head coach Micah Shrewsberry with just four returning players. They are sophomore guard Alex Wade, junior guard Tony Sanders Jr., sophomore guard J.R. Konieczny, junior forward Matt Zona. Freshman guard Markus Burton could play a role on next year’s team. The four returners played a grand total of about 153 minutes, almost all of which is accounted for by Zona.
