Khem Birch leaves Pitt basketball program
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Khem Birch was ranked among the top 10 prospects in the country when he signed at Pitt.
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Khem Birch is being led in the wrong direction by advisors who do not have his best interests in mind. This is the opinion of Ryan Hurd, the head coach at Notre Dame Prep, where Birch played last season before signing with Pitt.
Starting center Khem Birch, the highest-rated recruit of Jamie Dixon's tenure as Pitt's head coach, left the team Friday night and was en route to his native Canada where he was going to discuss his future with his family.
"Khem is a great kid," Hurd said. "This situation is painting him as something he is not. The problem is he is being led down a road by so-called advisors. It's going to end poorly for Khem, and that is sad for me because I care about the kid. This is not going to end well for him."
Birch made the decision to leave Pitt after an emotional meeting with Dixon Thursday. Dixon and Birch could not be reached for comment Friday night. Pitt plays South Carolina State tonight at the Petersen Events Center, and Dixon is expected to address Birch's departure after the game.
- Matchup: No. 15 Pitt (9-1) vs. South Carolina State (4-6), 6 p.m. today, Petersen Events Center.
- TV, radio, Internet: Pitt Panthers Television, KDKA-FM (93.7), www.pittsburghpanthers.com .
- Pitt: Playing for first time since beating Oklahoma State last Saturday. ... Led by senior G Ashton Gibbs (18.7 ppg, 3.1 rpg) and senior F Nasir Robinson (14.0 ppg, 6.2 rpg). ... Junior C Dante Taylor (8.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg) has scored in double figures in three of his past five games.
- South Carolina State: Coming off 87-57 loss at Gardner-Webb. ... Has lost four consecutive games. ... Played two other opponents from major conferences and lost, 75-38, at Virginia and, 70-50, at Baylor. ... Led by senior G Brandon Riley (20.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg) and junior G Khalif Toombs (11.6 ppg, 2.9 rpg).
- Hidden stat: A win would give Pitt 10 non-conference wins for the 11th year in a row. From 1998-2001, the Panthers never earned 10 non-conference wins.
"Khem has decided to leave the team for personal reasons," Dixon said in a statement. "We thank Khem for his contribution to our program over the last semester and wish him great success in the future."
Despite Dixon's statement and a quote from Birch in a report from CBSSports.com saying he was going to transfer, two sources Friday night said they would not be surprised if Birch is talked out of his decision once he returns home.
However, it was unclear whether Dixon would welcome him back to the team.
"If you asked me last year at this time I would have told you Pitt was the perfect place for him," Hurd said. "If you ask me today I would tell you Pitt is the perfect place for him. I don't know that this was his decision. Khem is an emotional person. My experience with Khem is that sometimes he can paint himself into a corner, and he didn't know how to get out of it. This isn't a situation where Jamie doesn't like the kid. He likes him."
Another source indicated Friday night that Birch was more homesick than upset with his playing time or the position he was playing at Pitt.
Birch, a power forward by trade, was playing center because Dixon has Nasir Robinson, a three-year starter, manning the starting power forward position. Birch started the past six games and was averaging 4.4 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.
"I enjoyed my time at Pittsburgh," Birch told CBSSports.com. "I love coach Dixon, had no problems with the staff and the players. It just wasn't the right fit for me."
Birch had been Pitt's starting center since replacing Dante Taylor in the lineup for a Nov. 25 game at Penn when Taylor could not play due to migraine headaches. He scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in that game.
Birch said he did not mind playing center because it meant he would be playing increased minutes. "As long as I'm playing it doesn't matter," he said.
Birch started the next five contests, but he was not as productive. After logging 28 minutes against Penn and 29 against Robert Morris while Taylor was out of the lineup, Birch has not played more than 15 minutes in any of the past four games since Taylor returned to action.
Foul trouble has played a role in his playing time in some of those games, but Dixon simply chose not to use him much in others. That was the case in a close victory at Tennessee when Birch played only four minutes after halftime even though he finished the game with one personal foul.
In Pitt's most recent game against Oklahoma State last Saturday, Birch had five points and one rebound in 15 minutes. His mother was in attendance at that game at Madison Square Garden.
Hurd indicated that Birch had a hard time adjusting to the physical nature of major-college basketball.
"Khem is still probably going to play in the NBA someday," Hurd said. "Some of this is about an adjustment to a high level of college basketball. Here he was 20 pounds lighter than anyone he was going against, and he got some bumps and bruises. If he thinks it's bad now wait until he gets to the NBA, and he is playing against men every day."
With Birch gone, Talib Zanna becomes the top reserve at power forward and center. Freshman Malcolm Gilbert, a 6-11 center who has not played this season, is also a candidate to play in the frontcourt.
Birch was ranked among the top 10 prospects in the country when he signed at Pitt, and his signing caused major upheavel with the Panthers. When Birch decided to reclassify from a 2012 recruit to a 2011 recruit, Dixon was forced to release Jaylen Bond from the letter of intent he signed last November.
Bond is now a reserve forward at Texas and averaging 4.5 points and 4.2 rebounds a game for the Longhorns.
If Birch decides to transfer he must sit out two full semesters in order to be eligible at another NCAA Division I school.
First Published December 17, 2011 12:00 am
