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He's 7 feet tall and if you open up the Big 12 Conference's record book and flip to "blocked shots," his name would be at the top of the list.
But still, Jeff Withey is catching some people by surprise.
"He's definitely a sneaky shot blocker," Jazz forward Gordon Hayward said. "I don't think they realize how good he is around the rim."
Portland's Tim Frazier, C.J. McCollum, Mason Plumee and Meyers Leonard all found out Thursday night, as Withey blocked a season-high four shots in a win over the Blazers.
"Yeah, that was a fun game for me," Withey said. "That one block where I blocked it out of bounds, that was definitely a fun one."
Coming out of Kansas, where he blocked 311 shots in his collegiate career, Withey was a second-round pick by the Blazers in 2013 but was soon traded to New Orleans. After spending his first two seasons in the NBA playing limited minutes, Withey is showing his worth in Utah while filling in for the injured Rudy Gobert.
On Thursday, Withey scored 10 points to go with his quartet of swats, marking the third straight game he'd reached double-figures.
"The last couple of games I've been playing pretty well," Withey said after the win. "After yesterday and that loss [at Minnesota], I think all of us came in today with the mindset of bringing a lot of energy. That was my focus, just run the floor and do hustle plays."
Withey helped stave off any thought of a late Portland rally by rising up for a highlight-reel dunk and a foul in the fourth quarter.
"Trey [Burke] gave me a good pass. I saw an open lane and threw it down," he said. "I don't get really that emotional but I turned around and Book [Trevor Booker] was going crazy so I was like, 'okay, I'll go a little crazy too.'"
Fam favorites
Raul Neto's father watches every game his son plays. But after tuning in from 5,000 miles away in Brazil to watch the start of the rookie point guard's NBA career, Neto's entire family has been able to watch him in person over the past couple of weeks.
"That's the first time watching me play in the league," Neto said. "It's really nice. It's always nice to have my family around. It's the first time in three years we are all together."
And one of the first things Neto's dad did was buy his favorite Jazz player's jersey: John Stockton.
"He bought it the first day he came to the game," Neto said with a laugh. "He didn't want my shirt. He wants John Stockton's shirt. But that's fine."
Bouncing back
After going 1-for-9 from the floor in a loss to Minnesota, shooting guard Rodney Hood helped lead the Jazz's turnaround by knocking down 4-of-7 attempts from 3-point territory on Thursday.
"You go through slumps and some nights you don't shoot well and some nights you don't have the energy. It felt good to get a win in front of the home crowd," he said.
Twitter: @tribjazz