Khem Birch needs to grow up.

So let me get something straight.  Khem Birch calls his former Pitt teammates "self-absorbed" but is upset that they didn't respect him because he was an "All-American?"  It's all well and good to exceed at the high school level, but once you move up to the college ranks and don a uniform for your new school, none of that matters anymore.

Maybe if Birch stopped being such a prima donna because he wasn't getting enough playing time and worked on improving his skills he would have gotten the playing time he craved.  Maybe if he had taken the time outside of practices and games to be part of the team socially, he would have seen that these guys are a team and want to win together. 

Jamie Dixon doesn't seem to care about egos.  If you play for him you know it is all about the team.  That's why I find Birch's comments about the team being self-absorbed to be laughable. 

I also find it laughable that Birch thought Pitt was going to play a fast uptempo game all of a sudden.  Maybe in a year or two as all the new recruits began to mesh together, but this year was always going to be the style of basketball Pitt fans have been accustomed to during this run of success.

Don't get me wrong, every player wants the numbers.  That's why we compete in sports.  We want to shine.  No one wants to be the worst player out there.  Birch wants to standout but I'm not sure he's willing to do the hard work.  His former prep coach said that Birch didn't like the physical play in games and of course we all know when the going got tough, he quit on the team. 

I think the best part was the fact he didn't even seem to know he'd lose some eligibility by transferring to UNLV.  Who the hell is advising this kid?  It's probably family members who have been feeding his attitude since he was a kid.  "You're better than everyone else.  It's not your fault, it's theirs." 

It's not easy to go from being the top dog and it's obvious Birch wasn't ready to handle the adversity.  It's just a shame he has to lash out at those he abandoned and try to tear them down just to make himself look better.  That shows an awful lot of immaturity.

Unfortunately these days a lot of people seem to be lacking the work ethic that used to define this country.  Everyone wants to take shortcuts.  Everyone wants to be handed a six figure wage fresh out of college.  No one wants to pay their dues or do the grunt work.

I don't even think Birch grasps the situation either.  In an interview earlier this week he was asked if he had any regrets about quitting on Pitt midseason and he flat out said no.  He doesn't think he did anything wrong.  What do you expect from someone who goes by @MTLsGift.  Yeah everyone is blessed to have this gift in their lives.

Time to grow up Khem...