UNC Basketball: Athletic Transfer With Exciting Potential

A Charlotte, North Carolina native is returning to the Tar Heel State to play for UNC Basketball, providing some athleticism to this year’s roster.

Jae’lyn Withers joins the UNC Basketball program after spending the first three seasons of his collegiate career with the Louisville Cardinals. He is projected to be an athletic wingman for the Tar Heels during the upcoming 2023-2024 season and provide valuable minutes in key spots.

What should you know about Withers from his past experiences, and how does he fit into this year’s reconstructed roster? We’ve got you covered with his player preview.

Prior to North Carolina

Withers comes to Chapel Hill from a familiar opponent of the Tar Heels, the Louisville Cardinals. Prior to that, he was a four-star recruit and ranked No. 123 overall by 247Sports in the Class of 2019 recruiting rankings. He committed to Louisville over Texas A&M, Arizona, Boston College, and several others.

During his time with the Cardinals, he played in a total of 81 games, starting 64 of them and averaging 22.8 minutes per game. As he developed throughout his career, he earned 25.2 minutes per game, starting 29 of 32 games during his junior season in 2022-2023. He averaged 8.9 points per game and almost a block per game with 0.8.

A strong number in his stats from his junior season is that he was a 41.7% three-point shooter, hitting 40 of 96 three-point attempts, an area the Tar Heels would like to improve this season.

What to Expect in 2023-2024

It has been pretty quiet around the UNC Basketball program this off-season as far as what is happening within the program, how certain players are performing in practice, and what the roster construction looks like for this year’s team.

However, Withers is a talented and athletic wing who can provide in plenty of areas for Hubert Davis and the UNC Basketball team this season. We have seen highlight videos showing off his athleticism on social media, and that’s what you should expect this season. A versatile guard who can play multiple positions and provide scoring.

Bold Prediction

Withers becomes a great defender on the wing, replacing the lost talent of Leaky Black to the NBA. His six-foot-nine frame and versatility can provide some matchup problems offensively and defensively for opponents, and he can use that to his advantage to guard one of the opponent’s top offensive threats throughout the season.

Withers has the talent and athleticism to become the sixth man off the bench for UNC Basketball this season and maybe even challenge for a starting spot early in the season if he performs well. He has the experience of playing in the competitive ACC and averaging 20+ minutes per game. That experience can be critical for a team that has plenty of new pieces and will be playing a challenging schedule.

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