Pitt Basketball: Former Panther Khem Birch Headed To UNLV
by CardiacHill on Jan 9, 2012 8:40 PM EST
in Pitt Basketball
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And just like that, Khem Birch, quite possibly the best recruit in the history of Pitt basketball, is headed to UNLV.
Now, I never bought in too much to the 'Birch may come back to Pitt' theory after the first week passed. I figured if there was any chance he'd be back, it would have been soon after he left. But now that he's apparently headed to Nevada, time to officially let him go.
My feelings on this are pretty well documented. While he's clearly able to do what he wants and while I won't kill him for the decision he made (he's a kid who made a mistake ... we all did), to leave a team that early in the season high and dry was pretty lame. If Birch really didn't feel like he fit, I would have at least preferred him to stick around for an entire season and not quit on the team. By leaving early, he not only agitated fans, but more importantly, he let his teammates down. Despite what they may say publicly, Birch's move was a selfish one and there's simply no other way to put it. His move really put the team in a bad spot this season as they were surely counting on him for depth.
But harboring ill will towards him isn't good for anything, so I hope he finds whatever it is he's looking for out west. I've heard insane talk about Birch not being a good player, etc. He's an incredible defensive talent and once his offensive game catches up to that, he'll be a force for sure.
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Ill look for him in January 2013. Bleeep.
I honestly forgot we are in Bball season right now.
Slutgerz up next. Atleast it is home
Las Vegas is a good place for a kid like this.
seriously, who the hell is advising this poor kid?
couldnt agree more with this statement
the kid seems a little fragile- so you send him to sin city? speaking from experience that is no place for the meek, vegas will chew you up and spit you out but good luck to you buddy.
Homesick
It also throws out the silly idea that he was homesick since he’s from Canada.
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It's a sad situation really
I hope these “advisors” of his really have his best interest at heart. His H.S. coach said Pitt would’ve been the best place for him.
Cardiac Hill contributor
by oaklandzoo12 on Jan 10, 2012 9:07 AM EST up reply actions
unfortunate
too bad that he decided to leave. He would definitely be a big piece moving forward.
Misguided
Dixon’s record with highly ranked recruits is spotty. We all know what Birch did. It is obvious Dixon has no clue about his squad this year. Please focus on what Dixon should have done to keep Birch. Dixon is a 40-year old man. Birch is a teenager. There is a difference.
did jamie dixon sleep with your wife or something?
my god you have an axe to grind with him, just sayin.
Why is Dixon not allowed a bad season?
I mean the man made 8 consecutive NCAA tourneys. Most schools would die for that.
Cardiac Hill contributor
by oaklandzoo12 on Jan 10, 2012 9:57 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
Dixon isn't the problem
It isn’t Dixon’s fault that:
a) Khem Birch didn’t and still doesn’t have the psychological make up to make it at the top level of college ball. If he expected to have success handed to him on a silver platter rather than having to work his @$$ off to earn it, he was sadly mistaken.
b) that neither Dante Taylor or Khem Birch or, next year, Steve Adams had any chance of living up to the ridiculous expectations the fan base created in their own minds.
You only have to look at what Jaime Dixon has been able to do with the non-hyped stars to know how good a coach he is.
Who would you have replace him?
Dixon
Man, I really don’t get this – you’ll have to explain it to me.
I didn’t witness how Dixon handled Birch, but this was Birch’s decision, not Jamie’s. What could he have done to keep Birch? Man, got me. But if that meant doing things to placate him, such as give him more minutes, allow him to play solely at power forward, I strongly disagree. Dixon can’t allow a teenager (as you put it) to start making decisions on how he runs the program.
Birch knew coming in that he’d have to play center – a view he acknowledged before the season started. He knew coming in that Pitt was a solid program and that he’d need to earn minutes. I won’t pretend to know exactly why he left, but if those two widely-speculated reasons are accurate, then there’s nothing different Dixon should have done.
And as for the record with highly-rated recruits, he’s really only had two – Dante Taylor and DeJuan Blair. Taylor simply isn’t the player we thought, but Blair, a top 50 recruit, turned out amazingly well and far exceeded expectations. And even with Taylor, you don’t hear him grousing about minutes or threatening to leave the program – from all indications, kid’s been a pretty good sport about not coming in and being handed things.
I’d say Dixon’s record with top recruits has been solid.
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Another thing
is that Blair was a guy who didn’t need the offense to run through him to get the ball. He did his scoring on put backs and on run outs. Blair though is a once in a generation offensive rebounding talent (all due respect to Faried from Morehead).
Birch wasn’t strong enough and realized that he wasn’t going to fit into that role as much. While he would’ve gotten stronger with a year at Pitt, he chose to take the gamble (wrong one in my opinion) that he is better off working out on his own. This way when he starts playing again with a more developed body and post moves, he’ll be able to go one and done as a lotto pick.
It is a shame Birch didn’t figure this out earlier because if he had come as originally scheduled in 2012, we’d have Bond still and Birch could’ve still been a one and done.
Bees Bees Everywhere
by VoteforPedro on Jan 11, 2012 2:53 PM EST up reply actions
Talent - (Lack of Mindset+No Heart+Me First Attitude)/Unrealistic Expectations) = Wasted Talent
There was never any question of Birch’s raw talent. But whatever he was expecting at this level wasn’t based in reality. And if he thought Jamie Dixon owed him more minutes than what he earned or that he didn’t have a team around him to which he owed his loyalty and best efforts, then Khem Birch is wasting his talent and his new UNLV teammates time.
Here’s hoping he wakes up and learns what it takes to succeed at the major college level. He sure doesn’t know it yet.
by whogastim on Jan 10, 2012 10:59 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
Talent - (Lack of Mindset+No Heart+Me First Attitude)/Unrealistic Expectations) = Wasted Talent
This
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by CardiacHill on Jan 10, 2012 11:43 AM EST up reply actions
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