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Khem Birch's Future At Pitt In Doubt, According To Reports

Reports indicate freshman forward Khem Birch could be on his way out of Oakland.

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 10: Khem Birch #24 of the Pittsburgh Panthers rebounds over Jean-Paul Olukemi #0 of the Oklahoma State Cowboys  at Madison Square Garden on December 10, 2011 in New York City.  (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 10: Khem Birch #24 of the Pittsburgh Panthers rebounds over Jean-Paul Olukemi #0 of the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Madison Square Garden on December 10, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)
Getty Images

The bad news just keeps on coming for Pitt fans.

A day after football coach Todd Graham left to take the job at Arizona State, leaving players and fans just a text message before a triumphant press conference in Tempe, it appears former McDonald's All-American basketball recruit Khem Birch's future with the basketball team is in doubt.

CBS Sports' Jeff Goodman reports that, according to sources, Birch is "contemplating leaving Pittsburgh," though he notes that no final decision has been made. The Panther Sports Network reports a source said Birch "is indeed leaving, possibly for Kentucky," while Panther Digest tweets a similar report from a source before noting the team has no comment.

Regardless of what is actually going on with Birch, some cryptic tweets from players past a present appear to corroborate that something is up.

Former guard Brad Wanamaker:

Guess everybody aint built for tough coaching and competing for minutes.
Dec 16 via Twitter for MacFavoriteRetweetReply

 

Former guard Jermaine Dixon.

If he think some just going be giving to him cause of who he is than he went to wrong school.....not going happen under Coach Dixon n #PITT
Dec 16 via EchofonFavoriteRetweetReply

 

...and current guard Ashton Gibbs retweeting teammate Travon Woodall.

RT @TrayWoodall1: Wow..... To the news that's about to unfold....
Dec 15 via EchofonFavoriteRetweetReply

 

Birch has played in all 10 of Pitt's games this season. The highly-touted forward is averaging 4.4 points and 5.0 rebounds in 15 minutes per game. His best performance came on Nov. 25 against Penn at the Palestra, where he scored 15 points, pulled down 10 boards and blocked three shots.

Birch was a five-star recruit and according to Rivals.com, held offers from Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Ohio State, Providence, Texas and West Virginia before deciding on the Panthers.

For all the latest on Birch and his status with the Pitt basketball team, stay tuned to SB Nation Pittsburgh.

Photographs by dizfunk used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.