He went from shooting 41 percent on 96 attempts in his final year with Louisville to going 4-for-20 at North Carolina.
“That affected my shot so much,” Withers said. “But given the circumstances and being where I’m at with the fanbase — the feedback and the criticism — it was kind of tough to say, ‘Yeah, I’m nurturing a thumb injury.’”
Back to 100 percent, Withers dedicated two to three workouts per day to his 3-point shooting during the offseason and preseason, putting up shots, getting touches and developing a “better feel” for the ball.
He also had to break his habit of giving up a wide open shot in exchange for pump-faking and dribbling. He learned to get legs under him and to be ready.
“A lot of very tough days and a lot of very good ones,” Withers said. “Spent a lot of days where I may not wanna get up the reps, I may not be hitting or making shots to the extent that I would like to. I’m kind of a perfectionist. I would say there’s also been days that I would shoot the lights out, barely missing [and] to where just everything feels great.”
His success from the 3-point line has also ebbed and flowed. Over the last two games, he went 2-for-10. Prior to that, he was 13-of-20 over the course of five games.
He still takes time before and after practice to refine his shot. Even though, with the amount of minutes he’s playing since he re-entered the starting lineup, his reps have lowered so he can rest.
In the post-practice sessions, he pairs up with junior forward Cade Tyson and graduate guard RJ Davis on one end of the court. They race to see who finishes shooting a rack of basketballs first, makes the most 3-pointers or makes three in a row. The loser always has to “do something that they probably don’t wanna do.”
Withers is shooting a career-best 43.5 percent from beyond the arc this season. That success has translated to winning the after practice contests.
And during five-on-five sessions with the rest of the team, RJ Davis begs Withers to shoot more. Every time he gives up a shot to try to create more space, Davis gets on him.
“You were shooting 62 percent at one point,” the graduate guard says. “You gotta keep letting it go.”
And on Wednesday, Withers did exactly that.
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First at the 16:24 mark in the first half. He caught a pass from sophomore guard Elliot Cadeau, stepped to the top of the key and released. It swished in to put UNC up 11-3. Withers pointed a finger back to Cadeau in gratitude.
The next minute, a driving RJ Davis kicked it out to him at the wing. He let it fly, then stared down the Notre Dame bench behind him. Roughly 30 seconds later, Davis found Withers for another.
Withers pressed his fingers to his lips to silence the Fighting Irish sideline once more. The UNC bench stormed him. Withers covered his face with three fingers and grinned.
The celebrations progressed. From a deep look with six minutes left in the half, up 30-17, he banked in one more, then covered his mouth as his eyes narrowed at his Notre Dame defender.
“He had somewhat of a rough year until he got hot,” junior guard Seth Trimble said. “But I just give so much kudos to him because at that point, it’s not so much about the physical work that he's doing, it’s about the mental. He’s really persevered, and he’s fought.”
After his sixth three at the 16:36 mark of the second half, someone on the bench told Withers he had one more to go to break the record. Suddenly, he was on a mission.
It took 13 minutes and three attempts.
Cadeau sent a no-look pass to Withers on the left wing.
He caught it, set his feet and sent it home.
The North Carolina bench pressed three fingers over their jubilant faces. He kept it casual, only flashing the three-fingers on both hands as he jogged back down the court. North Carolina had a 74-50 lead.
“It still doesn’t feel real,” Withers said. “It still hasn’t hit me yet. I know once I talk with family and friends and my teammates, it’ll really sink in.”
After the buzzer, Withers was pulled aside for a TV interview before exiting the court. His teammates followed and circled around him. Ambushing a post-game interview was something the team joked about doing in the past but never followed through on, according to Trimble. But Wednesday called for it.
They yelled for him. Wrapped their arms around him. Patted him on the head. Nodded along with every answer he gave. Hit him with their towels.
RJ Davis wrapped him up in a bear hug.
He didn’t have to get creative or use up any more celebration gestures.
This time, his teammates did it for him.
@carolinewills03
@dthsports | sports@dailytarheel.com
Caroline WillsCaroline Wills is the 2024-25 sports editor. Previously, she served as a senior writer on the sports desk, primarily covering women's tennis, field hockey, and women's basketball.
