By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — There may be many surprised that Jae’Lyn Withers is North Carolina’s most accurate 3-point shooter this season, but the 6–9 graduate forward isn’t one of them.
After an offseason that left his perimeter miss late in the Sweet 16 loss to Alabama etched in the memory of Withers and many Tar Heels fans, his recent resurgence has seemingly come out of nowhere.
“It feels good to be, especially coming off of last year, where it was a lot of questionable shots,” Withers said after scoring 16 points and four 3-pointers in Saturday’s 81–66 home win over Virginia, adding that it’s vindicating. “Very, but this is expected just coming off last year, and that’s why I got recruited here. So, I think that the goal is to get better and be more efficient.”
What led Coach Hubert Davis to recruit Withers to UNC hasn’t really emerged until the last couple of weeks.
“I would say I kind of got lost in the weeds,” Withers said. “Kind of was trying to be a little bit of everything. And I think that what got me here is what I fall back on — knocking down shots, being able to make straight-line drives, cleaning up on the glass, being a good defender, and blocking a shot or two, maybe.”
Withers is shooting a team-high 45.8% from 3-point range (22 of 48), a significant improvement from last season’s 20% (4 of 20), including 62.5% (10 of 16) in the last four games.
“I think it’s just confidence,” he said. “My teammates have been picking me up, telling me to be aggressive. If I see anything, let it go. They understand how well I shoot and how much work I put in during the offseason, so I think they’re just really emphasizing the confidence.”
It may be a revelation for many UNC fans, but Withers showed proficiency during his Louisville career, shooting 41.7% (40 of 96) in 2022–23 and 38.1% (8 of 21) in 2020–21 from 3-point range.
“He just opens up the floor for us,” center Ven-Allen Lubin said. “For me, for the bigs, and for the guards, to have a four who can stretch the floor out, knock down shots, and attack the rim that well has definitely been helping us all around.”
Coming into the season, Withers said that he absolutely believed that he could be the team’s best 3-point shooter in late February.
“Yeah, based on off of my work,” Withers said. “I give props to RJ [Davis]. But I think me, RJ is pretty, pretty spectacular from behind the arc this year.”
Davis is more than happy to have another perimeter threat.
“I’m super proud of J-Wit,” Davis said. “Three games, he’s been playing extremely well, from shooting the ball, from defending. That’s something that we know J-Wit is capable of, and I’m just glad that he’s just utilizing that because it’s helping us a lot.”
After starting the first seven games, Withers’ role diminished substantially. He got six minutes or fewer in five ACC games before starting the last four and playing 29 minutes against Virginia (topped only by his 33 minutes in the 94–91 Nov. 27 overtime loss to Michigan State).
“Even before how he’s been playing now, he’s been great,” freshman Ian Jackson said. “He has never let what’s going on the court affect him personally or in the locker room. He is playing great right now, and we need him to keep playing great. He has been amazing.”
Between his 10 points against Auburn on Nov. 26 and his next double-figure scoring game, 19 at Syracuse on Feb. 15, there were 19 games.
“It was tough at a certain point throughout the season, just figuring out what I could do that would keep me on the court or get me on the court,” Withers said. “And I think that, through different conversations and different talks with the coaches, it kind of helped me figure out exactly where I can fit in and get some opportunity.”
Withers said the most helpful discussions were with Assistant Coach Marcus Paige.
“He’s been telling me anytime that you see the rim, whenever you got an open opportunity, just let it go,” Withers said. “He’s been telling me all season, but it’s trying to figure out exactly what works for me, and based on my game, that’s been a tough adjustment for me to really embrace this part.”
While 3-point shooting has been the part of Withers’ game that gets the most attention lately, his length on defense and rebounding strength have also been important for Carolina.
“I would say I’m being disruptive, making sure that I’m trying to clean up on the glass and play a little help defense,” Withers said. “Being a big helper out there.”
If he maintains the same level of play over the last couple of weeks, he’ll be a big helper in giving the Tar Heels a decent shot at making it to the NCAA tournament.
UNC season statistics
ACC standings
| Team | League | Overall | NET |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 3 Duke | 15–1 | 24–3 | 2 |
| No. 25 Louisville | 14–2 | 21–6 | 25 |
| No. 18 Clemson | 14–2 | 22–5 | 22 |
| SMU | 11–5 | 20–7 | 39 |
| Wake Forest | 11–5 | 19–8 | 62 |
| North Carolina | 10–6 | 17–11 | 45 |
| Stanford | 8–7 | 16–10 | 85 |
| Pittsburgh | 7–9 | 16–11 | 55 |
| Florida State | 7–9 | 16–11 | 88 |
| Georgia Tech | 7–9 | 13–14 | 128 |
| Virginia Tech | 6–9 | 11–15 | 158 |
| Virginia | 6–10 | 13–14 | 102 |
| Notre Dame | 6–10 | 12–15 | 100 |
| California | 5–10 | 12–14 | 123 |
| Syracuse | 5–11 | 11–16 | 145 |
| N.C. State | 4–12 | 11–16 | 118 |
| Boston College | 4–12 | 12–15 | 193 |
| Miami | 2–13 | 6–20 | 217 |
Saturday’s games
North Carolina 81, Virginia 66
No. 25 Louisville 89, Florida State 81
N.C. State 85, Wake Forest 73
Boston College 69, Georgia Tech 54
Notre Dame 76, Pittsburgh 72
No. 18 Clemson 79, SMU 69
Virginia Tech 81, Miami 68
No. 3 Duke 110, Illinois 67
California at Stanford, 10 p.m., ESPN2
Monday’s game
North Carolina at Florida State, 7 p.m., ESPN
Tuesday’s games
No. 3 Duke at Miami, 7 p.m., ESPN
Georgia Tech at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m., ACCN
No. 25 Louisville at Virginia Tech, 9 p.m., ACCN
Wednesday’s games
Notre Dame at No. 18 Clemson, 7 p.m., ACCN
N.C. State at Syracuse, 7 p.m., ESPNU
Virginia at Wake Forest, 9 p.m., ESPNU
Boston College at Stanford, 9 p.m., ACCN
SMU at California, 11 p.m., ESPNU
| Date | Month/day | Time/ score | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 15 | Tuesday | W, 84–76 | at No. 19 Memphis | Exhibition |
| 27 | Sunday | W, 127–63 | vs. Johnson C. Smith | Exhibition |
| November | ||||
| 4 | Monday | W, 90–76 | vs. Elon | 1–0 |
| 8 | Friday | L, 92–89 | at No. 17 Kansas | 1–1 |
| 15 | Friday | W, 107–55 | vs. American | 2–1 |
| 22 | Friday | W, 85–69 | at Hawai’i | 3–1 |
| Maui Invitational | ||||
| 25 | Monday | W, 92–90 | Dayton | 4–1 |
| 26 | Tuesday | L, 85–72 | No. 1 Auburn | 4–2 |
| 27 | Wednesday | L, 94–91, OT | No. 11 Michigan State | 4–3 |
| December | ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | |||
| 4 | Wednesday | L, 94–79 | vs. No. 2 Alabama | 4–4 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 7 | Saturday | W, 68–65 | vs. Georgia Tech | 5–4, 1–0 ACC |
| 14 | Saturday | W, 93–67 | vs. LaSalle | 6–4 |
| Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte | ||||
| 17 | Tuesday | L, 90–84 | No. 3 Florida | 6–5 |
| CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden | ||||
| 21 | Saturday | W, 76–74 | UCLA | 7–5 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 29 | Sunday | W, 97–81 | vs. Campbell | 8–5 |
| January | ||||
| 1 | Wednesday | L, 83–70 | at Louisville | 8–6, 1–1 |
| 4 | Saturday | W, 74–73 | at Notre Dame | 9–6, 2–1 |
| 7 | Tuesday | W, 82–67 | vs. SMU | 10–6, 3–1 |
| 11 | Saturday | W, 63–61 | at N.C. State | 11–6, 4–1 |
| 15 | Wednesday | W, 79–53 | vs. California | 12–6, 5–1 |
| 18 | Saturday | L, 72–71 | vs. Stanford | 12–7, 5–2 |
| 21 | Tuesday | L, 67–66 | at Wake Forest | 12–8, 5–3 |
| 25 | Saturday | W, 102–96, OT | vs. Boston College | 13–8, 6–3 |
| 28 | Tuesday | L, 73–65 | at Pittsburgh | 13–9, 6–4 |
| February | ||||
| 1 | Saturday | L, 87–70 | at No. 3 Duke | 13–10, 6–5 |
| 8 | Saturday | W, 67–66 | vs. Pittsburgh | 14–10, 7–5 |
| 10 | Monday | L, 85–65 | at No. 23 Clemson | 14–11, 7–6 |
| 15 | Saturday | W, 88–82 | at Syracuse | 15–11, 8–6 |
| 19 | Wednesday | W, 97–73 | vs. N.C. State | 16–11, 9–6 |
| 22 | Saturday | W, 81–66 | vs. Virginia | 17–11, 10–6 |
| 24 | Monday | 7 p.m. | at Florida State | ESPN |
| March | ||||
| 1 | Saturday | Noon | vs. Miami | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 4 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at Virginia Tech | ESPNU |
| 8 | Saturday | 6:30 | vs. No. 3 Duke | ESPN |
| 11– 15 | Tues.–Sat. | ACC tournament Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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