Khem Birch is being led in the wrong direction by advisors who do not have his best interests in mind, according to Ryan Hurd, the head coach at Notre Dame Prep, where Birch played last season before signing with Pittsburgh.

"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."

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."