Front page feature of Withers today

Withers is a beast, he is going to DOMINATE this year!

 

the Story

Withers ready to make move

Charlotte star steadily becoming an NBA prospect

JENA JANOVY

Staff Writer

The question bothered Curtis Withers when he was growing up.

"At a young age, Curtis wasn't tall, and he used to always ask me when he was going to grow," said his mother, Elizabeth Withers. "And I said, `You're going to grow.' "

Mothers have a way of knowing these things.

A 6-foot-8, 238-pound junior for the Charlotte 49ers, Withers has grown into what observers and coaches are calling one of the most dominant power forwards in men's college basketball and an NBA prospect who's drawing comparisons to Detroit's Ben Wallace.

He's grown into his role as a leader for the 49ers, trying to achieve coach Bobby Lutz's goal that he improve defensively, value every shot and show consistent effort in practice.

And he's growing off the court, keeping his academics in order, planning for his financial future, learning to be more responsible, spending quality time with his son and wanting to provide a good life for his son and his family.

Life hasn't been perfect. He's had problems, including a one-game suspension last spring after being arrested and charged by university police for driving while impaired and two related traffic offenses. The charges were dismissed this month. He also copes with narcolepsy, which occasionally causes him to drift into sleepiness.

But he's dealt with his problems, and he's reached a place in life where his biggest dreams on the court are becoming reality and his time off the court is just as enjoyable and rewarding. Trips to Chuck E. Cheese's with a 4-year-old will do that.

That basketball has helped deliver him to this place is no fluke.

Early signs

There were early indications Withers would excel in sports. His mother played basketball and golf and ran track at West Charlotte High. His uncles played football and basketball. He first picked up a basketball at age 4 at summer camp at the Greenville Recreation Center in Charlotte."He was a very active kid," said Elizabeth Withers. "He was always into programs, always playing sports and never wanted to be last. He always strived to be No. 1."

Withers tried other sports, but always returned to basketball. He played at school, during recess and after school at the rec center near his home. He went to summer camps and joined AAU traveling teams. He starred for West Charlotte. When he chose Charlotte, he talked of wanting to see his number eventually hang from the rafters.

NBA future?

He followed the NBA careers of Michael Jordan, Penny Hardaway, Chris Webber and, now, Kevin Garnett, his favorite player. He sees himself playing in the NBA. Whether he'll forego his senior season and enter the NBA draft depends, he said, on if the opportunity would be there. For sure, he'll talk with Lutz.

"We established that relationship," Withers said. "He knows the chance or what could happen, and I'm pretty sure he'd be up front and honest with me and let me know what's what. ... Life is based on choices and decisions. You have to make smart ones. I want to be smart and think before I react."

Withers' first two seasons at Charlotte brought dramatic improvement in scoring and rebounding averages -- 9.4 points, 6.4 rebounds as a freshman, 16.3 points and 9.5 rebounds as a sophomore.

After last season, Lutz nominated him for the under-20 USA Basketball World Championship for Young Men qualifying team, coached by Oklahoma's Kelvin Sampson. Withers started and scored 17 points in the gold-medal win against Puerto Rico.

"He's a really tenacious guy who plays defense, gets rebounds, does all the little things that most guys don't like to do," said North Carolina's Sean May, who played with Withers on the U.S. team. "I'd love to play with Curtis someday."

Sampson, who called Withers "Ben Wallace Jr.," said Withers could start and play in any conference. And will make an NBA team.

"He will be dependable for Charlotte," Sampson said. "His toughness, hard-nosed play and rebounding, those are constants. You don't want your team's identity to come from a pretty boy, and Curtis is the antithesis of a pretty boy. He's a tough guy."

A father

Off the court, Withers, 20, has a soft side. His son, Jae'lyn, will be 4 in December. He visits his son, who lives with his mother, on the weekends and visits him at daycare during breaks from school.

"He's made the real world real," Withers said of his son. "I had to stop doing a lot of the things I was doing. I had responsibilities. You can't just have fun. You have to become more organized and prioritize things."

Now that Withers is a first-team All-Conference USA player, the expectations are even higher.

"I've told Curtis that to make the next step to be a dynamic player, you have to be more consistent on defense," Lutz said. "At times he shuts people down. ... But there can be a little bit of a lack of concentration. He has to take it more personally if a guy scores on him."

With four returning starters, the Niners are being talked about as a team that could go deep in the NCAA tournament.

Along the way, Withers' mother will be watching and wearing her No. 3 jersey.

"I am so proud of the way he has carried himself," Elizabeth Withers said. "He's kept his grades up, he showed I could trust him. ...

"He has shown me he has grown up and can carry his own load, and he carries it in a respectful way that makes me proud."