Hubert Davis explains decision to start Jae'Lyn Withers in Clemson loss

On Monday, North Carolina head coach Hubert Davis started Jae’Lyn Withers over Ian Jackson against No. 23 Clemson. Unfortunately for Davis, the lineup change couldn’t save the Tar Heels, who fell 85-65 to the Tigers. After the loss, Davis explained his decision to start Withers.

“[Clemson forward Ian] Schieffelin is, in my opinion, the best offensive rebounder in the league,” Davis said. “We’re not very big. We’re a small team. We start a really small lineup and just didn’t think that would put us in a position rebounding to start the game.

“We got off to a good start. As you mentioned, we were up 23-21 [or] 23-20 and then, from that point, Clemson just took off.”

North Carolina had a 23-21 lead with 9:23 left in the first half. From that point, Clemson finished the half on a 28-10 run, taking a commanding 49-33 advantage into halftime.

The Tar Heels weren’t able to respond. Worse, Davis’ decision to start Withers because of his rebounding ability proved unsuccessful. In the loss, the Tar Heels gave up 41 rebounds, including 15 offensive, to the Tigers while only reeling in 28 boards themselves.

Clemson finished the game with 16 second-chance points. Withers did little to slow the Tigers down, recording just three rebounds in the loss.

In fairness, Ian Jackson, who normally starts over Withers, didn’t play any better. The 6-foot-4 freshman recorded just three points and two rebounds while missing all eight of his field-goal attempts.

With the loss, North Carolina fell to 14-11 on the season and 7-6 in conference play. The Tar Heels are no longer in the AP Top 25 after beginning the season ranked as the No. 9 team in the country. Hubert Davis knows something has to change if his team wants to turn their season around.

“One of the things that we talked about in the game is,” Davis said after the loss to Clemson. “And I think it was a question after the game on Saturday, in regards to a sense of urgency, and I said, ‘No, it’s a sense of emergency.’

“That’s the type of mindset that you have to have in your preparation, practice and play every day, and it doesn’t guarantee you that things will work out your way but without it, you have no chance. So, from that standpoint, just sad.”

On Saturday, North Carolina will have a chance to get back on the right track as it squares off against Syracuse at 6 p.m. ET. The game will air live on ESPN.