Six Players The Erie BayHawks Should Look At

Mar 5, 2014; Las Vegas, NV, USA; UNLV Runnin

Khem Birch PF

Coming out of UNLV, Khem Birch went un-drafted in June’s NBA Draft. Following the draft, Birch received an invite from the Washington Wizards to join their the Summer League roster. After a solid week in Last Vegas, Wizards Summer League coach Sam Cassell was quoted as saying “if it were up to him, Birch would be part of the Wizards’ 15-man roster to begin the regular season.”

Birch is a defensive and shot blocking savant. Standing at 6’9″ with a 7’1″ wingspan, his physical measurements are as impressive as his athleticism. He utilized those attributes to win the Mountain West conference defensive player of the year the last two seasons. Last season, Birch averaged a whooping 3.8 blockers per game, which ranked him second in the country. His low foul rate — 2.9 PF per 40 minutes this past season — shows he could be an elite rim protecting power forward. That skill-set could be a nice compliment to Nikola Vucevic, who, at this point, struggles mightily defending the rim.

While he’s extremely advanced on the defensive end, Birch is very raw on the offensive end. His shooting is erratic and he lacks any go-to moves in the post. He may have come out a year early, but it could all still workout for the defensive minded big man. While it may be a few years before he saw anytime with the Magic, they could still take a flier on him and work to grow his overall game with the BayHawks.

Stats Per 40 Minutes

Season School Conf FG FGA FG% 2P 2PA 2P% FT% TRB STL BLK PTS 2011-12 Pit BIG E 4.3 7.5 .571 4.3 7.5 .571 .545 13.3 0.5 5.1 11.7 2012-13 UNLV MWC 4.7 8.4 .563 4.7 8.4 .563 .642 10.5 1.3 4.8 13.1 2013-14 UNLV MWC 4.8 9.5 .510 4.8 9.5 .510 .693 13.0 0.8 4.8 14.7 Career Overall 4.7 8.9 .531 4.7 8.9 .531 .668 12.2 0.9 4.8 13.9