Jeffree David Withey (born March 7, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Taipei Fubon Braves of the Taiwanese P. League+. He played college basketball for the University of Kansas where he became known for his shot-blocking ability and his defensive presence.[1] He was drafted 39th overall in the 2013 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers.[2]

Jeff Withey
Withey shooting over Donatas Motiejūnas in a preseason game in October 2013
No. 55 – Taipei Fubon Braves
PositionCenter
LeagueP. League+
Personal information
Born (1990-03-07) March 7, 1990 (age 34)
San Diego, California, U.S.
Listed height7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight230 lb (104 kg)
Career information
High schoolHorizon (San Diego, California)
CollegeKansas (2009–2013)
NBA draft2013: 2nd round, 39th overall pick
Selected by the Portland Trail Blazers
Playing career2013–present
Career history
20132015New Orleans Pelicans
20152017Utah Jazz
2017Dallas Mavericks
2018Tofaş
2019Lavrio
2019–2020Ironi Nes Ziona
2020–2021Goyang Orion Orions
2021–2023Bilbao
2023–2024Wonju DB Promy
2024–presentTaipei Fubon Braves
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

High school career

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Withey led Horizon High School to the state Division IV title in his sophomore season (2006) [3] and he graduated in the class of 2008.[4] In the game preceding the state championship game, Withey and his teammates had to face a San Joaquin Memorial High School team in the Southern California Regional Championship game that featured three seniors who were future NBA players, Robin & Brook Lopez and Quincy Pondexter. In a dramatic double-overtime game, Withey and his teammates overcame the San Joaquin squad and went on to win the title in the following game.[5]

In his senior season he averaged 20.8 points, 13.0 rebounds, and 7.3 blocked shots per game.[6]

Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Withey was listed as the No. 8 center and the No. 36 player in the nation in 2008.[7]

College career

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Arizona (2008)

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Withey had originally committed to play for Louisville, but switched his commitment to Arizona. Following the resignation of Lute Olson in October of Withey's freshman season, he decided to transfer from Arizona. He did not see any playing time for the Wildcats during his semester of the 2008–09 season.

Kansas (2009–2013)

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Jeff Withey in June 2013

Withey transferred to Kansas in January 2009, but was ineligible to play until the end of the 2009 fall semester due to the NCAA transfer rules requiring him to sit out a year. He initially saw limited playing time during the second half of the 2009–10 season and the 2010–11 season, playing behind Cole Aldrich and the Morris twins.

In his junior year, after twin brothers Marcus and Markieff Morris left for the NBA draft, he became a starter,[8] playing for the 2011–12 squad which lost to Kentucky in the NCAA championship game. Withey blocked 31 shots in the 2012 tournament, breaking Joakim Noah's tournament record of 29.[9] During the 2011–12 season, he was named Big 12 defensive player of the year and set a Big 12 record with 140 blocks for the season.[10]

2012–13 season

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On October 4, 2012, Withey was named to the Preseason all-Big 12 unanimously.[10]

On December 3, 2012, Withey was named Big 12 Player of the Week. To earn the honor, he scored a triple-double against San Jose State Spartans on November 26. In that game, Withey scored 16 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, and blocked 12 shots, for the second triple-double in KU history.[11] On February 18, 2013, Withey was named Big 12 Co-Player of the Week. He had double-doubles against both Kansas State Wildcats and Texas Longhorns. He also made his 265th blocked shot to set a new Big 12 record for career blocked shots.[12]

Withey finished his senior year of college by averaging 13.7 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.9 blocks.[13]

On March 10, 2013, he was named defensive player of the year in the Big 12 for 2012–13 and he was named first team All Big 12.[14] On March 11, 2013, Withey was named 2nd Team All-American by The Sporting News.[15] On March 31, 2013, Withey was accorded third-team All-American mention by the Associated Press.[16]

On April 5, 2013, the National Association of Basketball Coaches named Withey the co-National Defensive Player of the Year.

College statistics

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2009–10 Kansas 15 3.0 .538 .556 1.4 0 .1 .4 1.3
2010–11 Kansas 26 6.2 .647 .515 1.8 .2 .2 .7 2.3
2011–12 Kansas 39 39 24.8 .536 .795 6.3 0.7 0.6 3.6 9.0
2012–13 Kansas 37 37 30.9 .582 1.000 .714 8.5 0.9 0.8 3.9 13.7

Professional career

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New Orleans Pelicans (2013–2015)

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Withey was selected with the 39th overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers.[2] He was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans in a three-team trade involving the Trail Blazers and the Sacramento Kings on July 10, 2013.[17] In two seasons for the Pelicans, he averaged 3.0 points and 2.3 rebounds in 95 games.

Utah Jazz (2015–2017)

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On August 24, 2015, Withey signed with the Utah Jazz.[18] On December 28, 2015, he recorded a season-high 11 points and a career-high 12 rebounds as a starter in a 95–91 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.[19]

Dallas Mavericks (2017)

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On August 21, 2017, Withey signed a one-year deal with the Dallas Mavericks.[20] He was waived on December 19, 2017.[21]

Tofaş (2018)

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On July 24, 2018, Withey signed with the Turkish team Tofaş for the 2018–19 season.[22] On December 28, 2018, Withey parted ways with Tofaş after appearing in 19 games.[23]

Lavrio (2019)

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On February 28, 2019, Withey signed with Greek team Lavrio for the rest of the season.[24] On March 30, 2019, Withey recorded a season-high 18 points, shooting 8-of-10 from the field, along with six rebounds and two blocks in an 88–99 loss to PAOK.[25] In 10 games played for Lavrio, he averaged 6.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.

On July 4, 2019, Withey joined the Washington Wizards for the 2019 NBA Summer League.[26]

Ironi Nes Ziona (2019–2020)

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On August 18, 2019, Withey signed a one-year deal with Ironi Nes Ziona of the Israeli Premier League.[27] On October 23, 2019, Withey recorded a double-double of 23 points and 11 rebounds, leading Nes Ziona to an 82–75 win over the Kapfenberg Bulls.[28] He was subsequently named Europe Cup round 1 Top Performer.[29] On December 5, 2019, Withey was named Israeli League Player of the Month after averaging a double-double of 16.3 points and 13.3 rebounds, while shooting 66 percent from the field in eight games played in November.[30] On December 23, 2019, Withey recorded a new career-high 24 points, while shooting 10-of-12 from the field, along with seven rebounds and three steals in a 95–80 win over Hapoel Tel Aviv.[31]

Goyang Orion Orions (2020–2021)

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On July 9, 2020, the Goyang Orion Orions added Withey to their roster.[32] He averaged 8.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in the Korean Basketball League.[33]

Bilbao Basket (2021–2023)

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On July 21, 2021, Withey signed with Bilbao Basket of the Liga ACB.[33]

On August 22, 2023, he signed with Hapoel Tel Aviv of the Israeli Premier League.[34] However, he never played for the team.

NBA career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2013–14 New Orleans 58 4 11.8 .535 .000 .712 2.6 .4 .3 .9 3.3
2014–15 New Orleans 37 0 7.0 .500 .000 .680 1.7 .3 .1 .5 2.6
2015–16 Utah 51 10 12.9 .537 .000 .729 3.4 .4 .4 1.0 4.3
2016–17 Utah 51 1 8.5 .534 .000 .750 2.4 .1 .3 .6 2.9
2017–18 Dallas 9 0 4.3 .375 .200 .500 1.1 .0 .0 .3 1.7
Career 206 15 10.1 .525 .143 .716 2.5 .3 .3 .8 3.2

Playoffs

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017 Utah 3 0 6.9 .500 .000 .500 1.3 .3 .3 .3 1.7
Career 3 0 6.9 .500 .000 .500 1.3 .3 .3 .3 1.7

References

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  1. ^ "Jeff Withey - 2012-13 Men's Basketball". kuathletics.com. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Trail Blazers Acquire C.J. McCollum, Jeff Withey, Marko Todorovic And Draft Rights To Allen Crabbe In 2013 NBA Draft". nba.com. June 27, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  3. ^ "Horizon 7-footer chooses Louisville for basketball". Union-Tribune Publishing Co. 2006.
  4. ^ "Scout: Jeff Withey". Microsoft. 2012.
  5. ^ "Horizon edges San Joaquin Memorial". Maxpreps. 2006.
  6. ^ "Kansas Center's Reach Has Foes Grasping at Straws". The New York Times Company. 2012.
  7. ^ Jeff Withey Recruiting Profile
  8. ^ "Withey could be difference maker as Kansas looks to upset Kentucky". Sports Illustrated. April 2, 2012. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012.
  9. ^ "No joy in block record for Withey". Kansas City Star. April 2, 2012.
  10. ^ a b Jeff Withey named to preseason all-Big 12; Elijah Johnson honorable mention, Lawrence Journal-World, October 4, 2012.
  11. ^ Jeff Withey wins Big 12 player of week, Lawrence Journal-World, December 3, 2012.
  12. ^ Kansas center Jeff Withey shares Big 12 player of the week honors, Lawrence Journal-World, February 18, 2013.
  13. ^ Dodd, Rustin. Portland drafts KU's Jeff Withey with 39th overall pick, Kansas City Star, June 28, 2013.
  14. ^ Bedore, Gary (March 10, 2013). "Jeff Withey, Ben McLemore selected to All-Big 12 first team". KUsports.com. Retrieved March 11, 2013.
  15. ^ Keeley, Laura (March 11, 2013). "Seth Curry named Sporting News All-American". newsobserver.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2013. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
  16. ^ Bedore, Gary. KU freshman Ben McLemore earns All-America honors, Lawrence Journal-World, April 1, 2013
  17. ^ "NEW ORLEANS PELICANS ACQUIRE TYREKE EVANS AND JEFF WITHEY IN THREE-TEAM TRADE". NBA.com. July 10, 2013. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
  18. ^ "Jazz Sign Jeff Withey to Multi-Year Contract". NBA.com. August 24, 2015. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  19. ^ "Gordon Hayward scores 24, Jazz beats 76ers 95-91". NBA.com. December 28, 2015. Archived from the original on December 27, 2015. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  20. ^ "Mavs sign center Jeff Withey". mavs.com. August 21, 2017. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
  21. ^ "Mavericks sign Kyle Collinsworth to two-way contract". NBA.com. December 19, 2017. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  22. ^ "Tofas Bursa signs Jeff Withey". Sportando.basketball. July 24, 2018. Archived from the original on July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  23. ^ "Tofas, Jeff Withey part ways". Sportando.basketball. December 28, 2018. Archived from the original on September 19, 2021. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  24. ^ "Jeff Withey signs with Lavrio". Sportando.basketball. February 28, 2019. Archived from the original on February 1, 2023. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
  25. ^ "GS Lavrio 88 at PAOK BC 99". RealGM.com. March 30, 2019. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
  26. ^ "Wizards announce 2019 Summer League roster". BulletsForever.com. July 4, 2019. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
  27. ^ "וויטי יהיה השחקן הגבוה בתולדות נס ציונה". basket.co.il (in Hebrew). August 18, 2019. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
  28. ^ "Kapfenberg Bulls v Ironi Ness Ziona boxscore - FIBA Europe Cup 2019-20". FIBA.Basketball. October 23, 2019. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  29. ^ "Jeff Withey lands Top Performer honors with double-double in winning start for Ironi Ness Ziona". FIBA.Basketball. October 24, 2019. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  30. ^ "שחקן חודש נובמבר בליגת ווינר סל: ג'ף וויטי". basket.co.il (in Hebrew). December 5, 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  31. ^ "Winner League, Game 11: Nes Ziona Vs Hapoel TA". basket.co.il. December 23, 2019. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  32. ^ "20-21시즌 외국인선수 영입 안내". orions.co.kr (in Korean). July 9, 2020. Archived from the original on February 24, 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  33. ^ a b "RETAbet Bilbao announces Jeff Withey". Sportando. July 21, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  34. ^ "Hapoel Tel Aviv inks Jeff Withey". Sportando. August 22, 2023. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
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