What is Behind Jae'Lyn Withers' Struggles This Season?

Jae'Lyn Withers was placed in a difficult situation.

The Louisville forward had spent his entire freshman season on the sidelines, taking a necessary redshirt in order to get his body acclimated for the college game. Following an entire year and offseason of preparation, Withers was slated to be the Cardinals' starting power forward for his first year on on-court action last season.

That is, until Malik Williams got hurt.

Two weeks before the start of the 2020-21 season, the Louisville big man re-fractured the fifth metatarsal in his right foot, and eventually would only go on to play three games that season. As a result, Withers would have to slide over from his natural position of power forward, and spent the vast majority of last year as Louisville's starting center.

But instead of a prolonged adjustment period, the Charlotte, N.C. native flourished. Despite playing out of position in his first real year of college basketball, Withers averaged 10.0 points and 7.7 rebounds per game while shooting a team-best 55.2 percent from the field. As a result, he was named to the 2021 ACC All-Freshman team.

On top of the promising freshman campaign, Withers was able to showcase his skills out on the perimeter at his natural position during the brief time him and Williams shared the floor. He went 3-6 during the three games they played together, and 5-9 in Louisville's final four games of the year.

Heading into the current season, there was a lot of hype regarding Withers and his potential. Not only would he be able to slide back to his natural position with Williams coming back and at full health, but there was very real NBA buzz surrounding him.

Instead, Withers has struggled immensely so far this season.

The 6-foot-8, 230-pound forward had up and down moments during the bulk of Louisville's non-conference slate, averaging 7.7 points and 6.2 rebounds over the Cardinals' first six games of the year. He had three games where he broke double figures, and one where he cracked that threshold in rebounding, but couldn't string together consistent play.

Ever since the calendar flipped to December, Withers' production has declined sharply. In Louisville's last eight games, he is averaging just 2.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per games, and is shooting only 24.1 percent from the field. He was benched entirely starting with the Cardinals' game vs DePaul, only briefly cracking the starting five at Western Kentucky when Williams was out due to COVID.

As it currently stands, Withers is boasting a stat line of just 4.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per game while shooting 38.1 percent from the field and 25.8 on three-point attempts. Why has arguably Louisville's top NBA prospect heading into the season had such a disappointing season up to this point? Head coach Chris Mack offered some first-hand insight into the matter when asked about it earlier this week.

"It's a little bit everything," he said. "I think he puts a lot of pressure on himself."

Mack believes it's a combination of forcing things to try and break the slump he's in, and a little bit of the mental aspect. He also believes that, even though he wasn't at his "natural position" last season, that narrative is a tad overblown. He even called Withers a "four-ish five," so to speak.

Still, no matter where Withers is on the floor, some of his decision making this season has been night-and-day from what it has been last season. So far this year, despite being seventh in total minutes played, he leads the Cardinals in turnovers with 26.

"When he tries to make some of the decisions that he's making on the perimeter, you can't do that at this level," Mack said. "It's cost us to be able to put him on the floor at times."

Mack also noted that Withers has had a tendency to be aggressive or passive in the wrong moments. Mack mentions specific instances where Withers is trying to bring the ball up the floor, and tried to split defenders where there really wasn't an opening. There have also been multiple occasions where Withers is either not playing tough down in the post, or is simply not putting forth visible effort anywhere else on the floor.

Even with Withers' rough start to the year, Mack still has unwavering faith in his ability to bounce back.

"He's working through some things," he said. "I got all the confidence in the world that he's a really good player, and he's got to believe that. He's got to be mindful of when those opportunities are taking place."

That being said, Mack reiterated that Withers' minutes and overall role is solely tied to the effort he puts forth. Whether that be on the glass, his attentiveness on defense, his offensive rebounding, and keeping turnovers down. He admits that it's a baseline effort for who Withers is a player and who he can become, but also adds that he hasn't met said baseline yet.

"Those things hurt you when they're not in place, and he hasn't gotten that yet," Mack said.

(Photo of Jae'Lyn Withers: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)