Louisville basketball: 5 things I learned from Chris Mack

Jae’Lyn Withers may be the most exciting thing about 2020-21

Maybe the most enlightening piece of information that Coach Mack left us with was the fact that Louisville redshirt freshman Jae’Lyn Withers has grown an inch and a half. The former four-star wing sat out last season to build his body and game, and since then has shot up quite a bit.

Withers, Mack says, is a viable option to play some time at the five spot, an area where Louisville faces some uncertainty without Steven Enoch this season and a question mark in Aidan Igiehon at the backup spot.

Here’s what he had to say on Withers:

“I know that when we recruited Jae’Lyn, we never had the intention of playing him at the five, but he’s grown an inch and a half, he’s certainly strong enough to defend most fives in our league, and I think he’d be a very tough cover for a lot of teams- Especially when he faces the basket.”

And on his growing role:

“(Withers is) A little bit like Aamir Sims from Clemson,” said Mack. “I know that they recruited him to that position, but for a lot of teams, boy, was he a tough matchup. Jae’Lyn has a chance to really help our team, and we’re going to need him to. I think he can be effective at both ends of the floor.”

Coach Mack mentioned that there would be growing pains for Withers, while much less than what it would’ve been like for him last year, but overall his development could push the ceiling for the team even higher. The four spot is the biggest question mark at this point ahead of the season and if Withers can answer those questions, it could quickly become his job. However, as we learned, nothing will be decided upon until late fall and into the early preseason.