Pitt recruit Khem Birch will be a member of the West team in 2011 McDonald's All American High School Basketball Game, which will take place at 10:00 Eastern on Wednesday and will be broadcast on ESPN. The girls' game will be at 7:30 on ESPNU. You can check out the full roster of the boys' game here (PDF). (You can also check out the game's website, which is just about the most obnoxious and dysfunctional thing I've seen on the web this side of 1999. But I digress.)
↵↵↵↵Birch is an off the charts athlete that can charge the game on the defensive end of the floor with his ability to block shots and rebound. His is a big time clear path finisher and when his offense catches up to his defense is game goes to next level. Birch has great upside and has drawn comparisons to former Cincinnati and NBA star Kenyon Martin.
↵
Birch was a huge get for the Panthers and figures to be a big part of their future, particularly given the imminent departures of Gilbert Brown, Brad Wanamaker and Gary McGhee, so this should be worth checking out.