By R.L. Bynum
CHARLOTTE — It’s been quite a season of transition for Jae’Lyn Withers, who was part of more victories at Carolina before Thanksgiving than all of last season with a 4–28 Louisville team.
That’s just one of many contrasts for the 6–9, 215-pound graduate student, whose situation is dramatically different than a year ago.
“I think at Louisville, I was more less in a spot of I had to produce a lot more,” Withers said in a press conference Tuesday before the Oklahoma win. “The talent level wasn’t, I guess, on par with here. A lot more was required. I think here, a lot is still required because of where I’m playing at.”
With so much talent on the No. 11 Tar Heels’ roster, those requirements have changed for the athletic Charlotte native.
“The role is definitely different,” said Withers, who turned 23 on Wednesday. “I’m more of a glue guy this year. I do all the dirty work, capable to hit a shot, capable of taking somebody off the dribble, capable of running the floor, getting steals, getting into passing lanes, doing a little bit of everything.”
Withers welcomes the stability and the Carolina program tradition after seeing the culture “jump around” during his four seasons at Louisville.
Chris Mack was the coach during Withers’ first season at Louisville in 2019–20 when he redshirted. The school fired Mack in the middle of the 2021–22 season, replaced by interim coach Mike Pegues. Last season was the first with Kenny Payne as the Cardinals’ head coach.
“Here, outside of Roy [Williams] retiring, it’s been more or less the same,” Withers said. “They’re pretty much building on top of what Roy had. HD [Hubert Davis] just gave it his own little flavor or style to it. But I think it’s more or less been solidified here.”
Withers wasn’t sure how he would fit in when he transferred to Carolina, where he’s started three times after starting 64 of 81 games at Louisville.
“It was kind of up in the air,” said Withers, who earned ACC All-Freshman honors in 2020–21 as a redshirt freshman when he was seventh in the ACC in rebounding (7.7 per game) but dealt with injuries as a redshirt sophomore. “With all the new faces, it was more or less trying to figure out where I was needed or where I could fit in without disrupting the chemistry or the flow of everything.”
Coach Davis loves Withers’ diverse skill set.
“What he brings to the table is something that nobody else on the team brings. He has size, athleticism, versatility,” Davis said, adding that Withers can guard any player on the court. “He has that type of length and athleticism.”
It’s taken him a while to find his rhythm and role on the team after he suffered a concussion that kept him out of the exhibition victory over Saint Augustine’s.
“I’ve kind of been working my way back to into everything since then,” said Withers, who estimates that he’s been 100% for the last six weeks.
After Withers scored in double figures 13 times for the Cardinals last season, he’s only done it when he scored 11 points in the 91–69 victory over Northern Iowa in the Bahamas on Nov. 22.
When Withers and Stanford transfer Harrison Ingram are in the game, that gives Carolina more height since that shifts the 6-7 Ingram over to the three spot.
“We have more size and more athleticism when I’m on the court,” Withers said. “So, with me on the court, rebounding should go up offensively and defensively.”
Withers twice scored 20 points at Louisville (Nov. 29, 2020, against Prairie View and Feb. 2, 2020, at Notre Dame) and registered five double-doubles, including Feb. 1 last season when he had 19 points and tied his career-high with 13 rebounds against Georgia Tech.
After logging double-digit minutes in each of the first seven games, that’s happened only once in the last four games (19 minutes against Kentucky, when he had four points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks).
Withers had three fouls in four minutes against Oklahoma, including fouling a 3-point shooter twice. He has had at least four fouls in 23.9% of his career games and fouled out eight times (11.5%), including this season against Villanova when he had seven rebounds. His fouls per 40 minutes this season are at a career-high 5.2.
In three seasons at Louisville, he averaged 8.0 points, 5.6 rebounds while shooting 51.6% from the floor, making 34.8% of his 3-point attempts and shooting 70.1% from the free-throw line.
“My rhythm has been progressing in a pretty good direction,” said Withers, who is 1 of 8 from outside the arc this season. “I’ve been a little bit more confident offensively, and my energy and effort on the court as far as defense has also improved following talks with the coaching staff and HD.”
Those conversations were about Withers providing a presence on the court, whether that’s on the offense or defensive end.
“He’s a big piece of this team’s success,” Davis said. “He’s really working hard and getting better every day at practice. As I said before, he’s a huge piece for us to become the team that we want to become.”
Withers figures to have a bigger role off the bench as the Tar Heels start playing all league games in January.
UNC season statistics
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 10 BYU in SLC | Exhib. |
| 29 | Wednesday | W, 95–53 | vs. Winston-Salem St. | Exhib. |
| November | ||||
| 3 | Monday | W, 94–54 | vs. Central Arkansas | 1–0 |
| 7 | Friday | W, 87–74 | vs. No. 19 Kansas | 2–0 |
| 11 | Tuesday | W, 89–74 | vs. Radford | 3–0 |
| 14 | Friday | W, 97–53 | vs. N.C. Central | 4–0 |
| 18 | Tuesday | W, 73–61 | vs. Navy | 5–0 |
| Fort Myers Tip-Off | ||||
| 25 | Tuesday | W, 85–70 | vs. St. Bonaventure | 6–0 |
| 27 | Thursday | L, 74–58 | vs. No. 9 Michigan State | 6–1 |
| December | ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | |||
| 2 | Tuesday | W, 67–64 | at Kentucky | 7–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 81–61 | vs. Georgetown | 8–1 |
| 13 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | vs. USC Upstate | The CW |
| 16 | Tuesday | 8 p.m. | vs. East Tennessee State | ACCN |
| CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta | ||||
| 20 | Saturday | 3 p.m. | vs. Ohio State | CBS |
| ————————— | ||||
| 22 | Monday | 8 p.m. | vs. East Carolina | ACCN |
| 30 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Florida State | ESPN2 |
| January | ||||
| 3 | Saturday | 2:15 | at SMU | The CW |
| 10 | Saturday | 6 p.m. | vs. Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 14 | Wednesday | 9 p.m. | at Stanford | ACCN |
| 17 | Saturday | 4 p.m. | at California | ACCN |
| 21 | Wednesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Notre Dame | ESPN2 |
| 24 | Saturday | 2 or 2:30 | at No. 24 Virginia | ESPN or ESPNU |
| 31 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | at Georgia Tech | ACCN |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. Syracuse | ESPN |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | vs. No. 3 Duke | ESPN |
| 10 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at Miami | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 14 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | vs. Pittsburgh | ESPN |
| 17 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at N.C. State | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 21 | Saturday | 1 p.m. | at Syracuse | ABC |
| 23 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 11 Louisville | ESPN |
| 28 | Saturday | 6:30 or 8:30 | vs. Virginia Tech | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Clemson | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | at No. 3 Duke | ESPN |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo by Smith Hardy
tarheeltribune.com 