What A Week For Withey
Feb. 12, 2012
After a career high 20 rebounds against Oklahoma State, Kansas center Jeff Withey has put exceptional performances together back-to-back. Earlier in the week the San Diego, Calif., junior scored 25 points against Baylor eclipsing his previous high of 15 points.
Bouncing back from a scoreless performance against Missouri on Feb. 4, Withey collected 17 of the team’s 33 points going into halftime at No. 6 Baylor. In 29 minutes of play Withey accumulated five rebounds two steals and three blocks, along with his new career high of 25 points. From the free throw line the 7-footer hit 9-of-11 attempts. Withey’s offensive outburst was a pleasant surprise for head coach Bill Self.
“That is about as good offensively as we have had a big man play here,” Self said.
Currently, Withey ranks fourth in the Big 12 in free throw percentage knocking in 85.1 percent of his shots from the line this season. Withey has been a solid scorer this year collecting double-digit totals in 13 games this season, eight of those during conference play. In his time at Kansas Withey is shooting 56.3 percent from the field during his career, the best mark of any current Jayhawk. Withey’s offense has built up the confidence of his teammates, including senior guard Tyshawn Taylor.
“He’s been a really good shooter, it’s hard to stop him,” said Taylor. “I told him to just keep being aggressive. I like how he’s playing. I want to keep that up because it makes us a better team.”
Along with his offensive output Withey has etched a new career high in rebounds with 20 against Oklahoma State Saturday. While cleaning up the glass, Withey poured in 18 points and registered seven blocks against the Cowboys. The Jayhawk center is making his presence known leading the Big 12 in blocked shots with 3.7 a game in league play. After two dynamic performances Withey has upped his scoring average from 8.7 to 10.8 points in Big 12 games and his rebounding from 5.8 rebounds to 6.9 boards in conference play.
“(Withey) played great for the most part,” Self following the Oklahoma State performance. “Jeff was good and he is on a little bit of a roll right now.”
