Jae'Lyn Withers erupts in homecoming; scores season high to help UNC advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament

CHARLOTTE — Curtis Withers was a star in his hometown. He attended West Charlotte High School and was named the 2001 Charlotte Observer player of the year. He stayed home to play college ball at Charlotte, where he was named first team All-Conference three times. 

He played in one NCAA tournament game in 2004, when Curtis and the 49ers lost to Maryland in the first round. Curtis had 17 points and nine rebounds. So it was only fitting that on Thursday, Curtis’ son Jae’Lyn — who was born when his dad was only 16 years old — was a star in the Queen City in the first NCAA tournament game of his own career. 

“[It was] one of those proud dad moments,” Curtis told The Daily Tar Heel.

It was also fitting Jae’Lyn scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. One less point, one more board than his dad almost 20 years ago to the day. But unlike Curtis, this game came along with a win in Jae'Lyn's hometown.

The graduate forward took advantage of the special opportunity and certainly looked at home in the Spectrum Center during No. 1 seed North Carolina’s 90-62 first-round NCAA tournament victory over 16-seeded Wagner. The 16 points is a new season high for Jae'Lyn, and his performance tied his season high for points in a half, with 10 in the first. Thursday was only the fourth time all season he’s scored in double figures. He also added 10 rebounds, marking his second double-double of the season.

“It really hasn’t hit me yet,” Jae’Lyn said. “It’s crazy. To even have a double-double on this stage and this time of the year, I’m kinda lost for words honestly.”

Jae’Lyn joked he had “the whole neighborhood” in attendance on Thursday. After all, he said his house is only about a five-minute drive from the arena. But it wasn't just his parents who showed out. An old teammate and a few family friends saw Jae’Lyn put on a show.

The curtain went up early.

Jae’Lyn checked in for the first time Thursday with just under 15 minutes to go in the first half. He was ready for the moment.

“[Jae’Lyn’s] energy and effort on both ends of the floor really ignited us and got us the lead going into halftime,” UNC head coach Hubert Davis said. “He came off the bench, and his production was real.”

Jae'Lyn was physical inside, winning position in the paint nearly every time down the floor. He was aggressive and got to the free throw line on four occasions before the 10-minute mark.

His first field goal came when he cut baseline, caught an alley-oop from RJ Davis and finished with an acrobatic layup.

Jae'Lyn also came up with two big hustle plays in the first half. After a missed Davis three, he chased down the rebound — saving it from going out of bounds — and found sophomore guard Seth Trimble for an easy layup. Less than two minutes later, Jae'Lyn collected an offensive rebound, tipping the ball to himself over a Wagner defender. He then finished through contact for an and-one.

“[Jae’Lyn] changed the narrative of the game,” Trimble said. “He was a huge energy boost and he continued that through the whole game. It wasn’t just one spurt. But the whole game he played with that energy and efficiency, so it was great for us.”

He punctuated the performance in the second half when he caused a turnover, ran the floor and flew to the rim. First-year point guard Elliot Cadeau threw an alley-oop and Jae’Lyn got the go-ahead from air traffic control at Charlotte Douglas to take off and slam it home. 

Even after Thursday, Jae’Lyn still expects some trash talk from his dad. The two didn’t talk pregame. That’s Jae’Lyn’s preference.

As for what Curtis will have to say after, Jae’Lyn might be surprised.

What will you tell your son when you see him, Curtis?

“Good game,” he told the DTH. “You did what you were supposed to do.”

Gwen Peace contributed reporting to this piece. 

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