LAWRENCE, KS – With 15:29 remaining in North Carolina’s basketball game at Kansas on Friday night, veteran forward Jae’Lyn Withers got the ball in the left corner, looked down for brief second, got set, and sank a 3-pointer.
It was his first basket of the night and cut the top-ranked Jayhawks’ lead to eight points.
With 7:09 left to play, Withers drove to the basket and converted a contested layup giving the Tar Heels an 80-79 lead, overcoming a 20-point deficit. Carolina couldn’t hold on and lost, 92-89, but Withers’ 11-point surge, and all else he did in that span, were crucial in UNC having a chance at pulling off a shocker.
“He was much better on both ends of the floor (second half). I felt like defensively, he was playing defense before he was playing defense being more physical with their bigs,” UNC Coach Hubert Davis said. “It’s tough, they’re really talented players…
“And on the offensive end, I thought he did a really good job rolling to the basket, attacking the offensive glass and just giving us a rolling presence to the rim.”
Withers had two rebounds in the stretch, which included a period of 2:41 with him getting rest on the bench. Overall, in the second half, the 6-foot-9 native of Charlotte grabbed six boards and had a steal. He also defended at a high level much of the, including playing more physically on Kansas’ impressive front court than he or any of the Tar Heels did in the first half.
But it was his shooting (3-for-5 from three), and the emotional value gained from making them – for his team and siphoning it from the Jayhawks – that helped UNC turn the game on its head.
Down 51-31 with 1:09 left in the first half, UNC outscored Kansas 56-32 in building an 87-83 lead with 3:28 left to play. In that stretch was a period of 12:20 in which Carolina reeled off 44 points. Withers was on the floor for almost all of those points and was integral in the eruption occurring.
Keep in mind this is a guy who was just 4-for-20 from the perimeter last season and heard all summer about his missed three against Alabama in the Sweet 16. So, getting back to his Louisville ways, in which he shot 41.2% on 96 attempts from the perimeter two seasons ago, was the primary focus of the offseason. So far, he’s satisfying that mission.
“I would say the reps. I rep it out day I and day out,” said Withers when asked about gaining confidence in his shot before actually making them in any games this season. “I’m not really that big into social media, I’m posting all of my workouts and my mates. But I’m in the gym day in and day out every morning, every afternoon, and every evening.
“Practice ends shooting with Cade (Tyson) and just repping it out until to where it’s muscle memory.”
Withers hit three straight from beyond the arc against the Jayhawks inside Allen Fieldhouse and was 3-for-5 on the night. Through ninth-ranked UNC’s first two games, he’s 5-for-8. Withers has already made more threes this campaign than he did last season.
With Belmont transfer Cade Tyson struggling so far, Withers’ improvement on the perimeter is vital to Carolina’s success.
“He can really shoot the ball,” Davis said. “And having a big guy that can have the ability to knock down perimeter shots, especially from three; (Kansas’ Hunter) Dickinson can do it as well and it puts a lot of pressure on opposing defenses.
“It’s a part of our offense that we want to continue to develop throughout the season of having him pop more and be able to knock down that three. That gives us more space for our guards to get downhill and attack the basket.”
As for looking down for a split second before launching, it’s something that was apparent in the opener against Elon and really stood out Friday night. What exactly is he doing?
Withers noted the third of his made treys in response.
“The one in front of the bench I looked down because I thought I was out of bounds,” he said. “I thought I stepped back too far. I was going to go in for the lob but it was a pick-you-poison type of thing. The lob was open as well as the catch-and-shoot three.”
Withers finished the night with 11 points, nine rebounds and a steal in 24 minutes of action. And he nearly helped lift the Heels to what would have been one of the greatest comebacks in the fabled program’s history.
