Jae'Lyn Withers Continues Resurgence with Standout Performance at Notre Dame

Jae'Lyn Withers' struggles through much of this season were well documented.

Entering his redshirt sophomore year with very real NBA buzz surrounding him, the Louisville power forward struggled immensely over the first two months of the season. Through the Cardinals' first 17 games, Withers was averaging only 4.2 point and 4.5 rebounds per game, and had scored zero points in three of the last four games of that stretch.

He had gone from averaging 10.0 points and 7.7 rebounds per game last season, getting named to the 2021 ACC All-Freshman team in the process, to getting removed from the starting lineup and barely logging any minutes.

But seven games ago, Withers began to break out of his prolonged slump.

It started with a 10-point performance against Boston College on Jan. 19 - his first double-digit performance since late November. Then he followed that up with a nine point/nine rebound effort in the first matchup with Notre Dame.

Over the last three games, the Charlotte, N.C. native has very much looked like the NBA prospect many thought he would be this season. Despite Louisville losing to both North Carolina and Syracuse, Withers put up 12 and 13 points, respectively.

While the Cardinals lost again in the rematch with Notre Dame in South Bend Wednesday night for their sixth-straight loss, he had his best game of the season. The 6-foot-8, 240-pound big man matched a career-high 20 points on 9-17 shooting, and hauled in five rebounds.

"I'm happy for him, because he played hard tonight and played well," interim head coach Mike Pegues said. "But it centers around him getting in the lane, and playing around the basket. He's got to play inside out, and if he does that, he's gonna continue to have success."

Since Pegues took over four games ago following Chris Mack's departure, that has been his emphasis for Withers. He wants him to spend less time "floating around on the perimeter," and spend more time around the paint. Withers also said that Pegues' energy and approach has helped elevate his game as well.

"I think it's just the mindset," he said. "Pegues gives me a lot of confidence, as long as I'm doing what I need to do on the defensive end. I took advantage of (Notre Dame) having a smaller player on me at times. That's my strong suit.

"He just get's me fired up. That's all I can necessarily say. He brings the juice from minute one to minute 40."

Of course, Pegues does not want Withers to abandon his perimeter game entirely. He had a three-pointer against the Irish as part of his 20-point performance, and two against UNC. But he also wants Withers to "meet him in the middle", and continue to attack the paint like has during his resurgence. 

"We're gonna be alright if he does that," Pegues said. "If he's not, me and him are gonna have problems."

(Photo of Jae'Lyn Withers: Matt Cashore - USA TODAY Sports)