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Hubert Davis: North Carolina’s late-season run doesn’t happen without Jae’Lyn Withers
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Hubert Davis offered his support for North Carolina‘s Jae’Lyn Withers after his lane violation against Duke negated what would have been a game-tying Tar Heel free throw with 4.1 seconds remaining.
“Guys, we’re not here without J. Witt,” Davis said to media after the game. “I mean, the run that we’ve made over the last month and a half, it’s because of our team, but you can also directly point towards J. Witt and just what he’s done for us on both ends of the floor and just changed his team completely.”
Withers offered his perspective on what happened to cause the lane violation.
“I guess you could just say I kind of mis-timed the shot,” he said. “I was trying to make sure I crashed hard to secure a rebound in case he did miss.”
Despite the crushing defeat — North Carolina will learn its NCAA Tournament fate on Selection Sunday — Davis expressed pride in the way his team performed.
“I didn’t think I could be more proud of the group than I was before this game, but I lied to them,” Davis said. “I am, and it’s a blessing and an honor, and I thank Jesus every day that I’m their head coach.”
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
