DAYTON, OH – As Jae’Lyn Withers sat in front of his locker inside University of Dayton Arena on Monday night, he knew questions were coming about what happened last Friday night against Duke.

Not that and how it happened, but the days since. The processing, the coming to terms, and when Sunday evening arrived, the relief.

No longer can anyone say Withers’ lane violation with 4 seconds left with the Tar Heels trailing Duke by a point cost them a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Carolina got in, and Withers is largely off the hook.

But it wasn’t an easy time between the ref’s whistle and seeing “North Carolina” on the CBS screen slated for a play-in game against San Diego State on Tuesday night. It was rough. Very rough.

“I definitely took the full force of that one play,” Withers said, thoughtfully revealing what is still a very sensitive subject for him.

Carolina’s invitation to the big dance gave J-Wit a reprieve, but coming to terms with the mistake was a task. From the onslaught of negativity to a reality the Heels might not go dancing weighed heavily.

He tried watching the play again, “a little bit but not too much.” And when watching, Withers wished he could reach out, grab himself and pull him back from the lane. Yet, as a mature college graduate, perspective accompanies his pain.

“For sure,” he said, saying he still wants to pull himself back. “I definitely think like in that moment I definitely have to just play my cards a little different, I guess. That’s the most I can say about it.”

Withers can’t change what happened on the court Friday night, but with it came a deeper connection to his coach.

Media requests following the game were rampant for Withers, but he did not join four other Tar Heels in the hallway. He did, however, come out later but joined by Hubert Davis. It was Davis’ idea. He knew the 6-foot-9 native of Charlotte was in for a round of tough questions and wanted to be there supporting him. And to speak on his behalf.

Withers’ left arm was draped over Davis’ shoulder the entire time they fielded questions. It was like a child meeting a stranger for the first time clinging hard to his or her mother. Withers needed that figure to prop him up that night.

It helped then, and knowing Davis and every member of the roster fully had his back allowed Withers to get from the dumps of late Friday night to smiling and ready to play Monday night.

“I’d say it helped a lot,” Withers said. “For starters, just having somebody there to mitigate and make sure questions weren’t too overwhelming at that time was very nice, very meaningful to me, for sure.”

The questions were still hard Monday, but not as bad and were positioned more moving forward, which is what he wants. It’s in the past, he’s worked through it, and the NCAA spot has given him a mostly clean slate.

And a big sense of relief.

“For sure,” Withers said. “For sure.”