Jae’Lyn Withers has had a sputtering start to his Carolina career. The Louisville transfer was injured right before the season started, ceding a possible starting position to Paxson Wojcik and often looked lost on the court. Was he a big perimeter player? Was he an athletic, if undersized “4”?
He has started answering those questions and against his old team, he did so emphatically.
Withers had a season-high in both points (15) and rebounds (10) against Louisville last night in Chapel Hill, his first double-double of the season. His production was needed, too. Cormac Ryan, who started the game hot — hitting four 3-pointers in the first half — got saddled with some dubious foul calls, requiring Withers to come in longer than usual.