What's Wrong With Pitt Basketball?

By Michelle, a contributing writer with Gold Star Games, your tailgating games company.

A lot has gone wrong for Jamie Dixon and the Pittsburgh Panthers this year. The Panthers are normally good, but usually make a disappointing run when March Madness rolls around. This year, the Panther's disappointed long before March. Here's a look at the top 5 things that may have led to disappointing season long before tournament time.

1. Ashton Gibbs is having a less-than-stellar season. If anything, you could probably call Gibbs performance this season subpar. Gibbs may hit an awesome three pointer, when wide-open. However, talk of Gibbs making it into the NBA may be on the down-low after this less-than-stellar season. That is of course, barring some sort of miracle this March. Is Gibbs an overrated player on the Panthers? Might just be. He's not a defensive player, not very athletic or tall for a basketball player. Gibbs also lacks leadership ability as well as consistency on the court.

2. The Panthers do not have talent when it comes to upperclassmen. Maybe in a couple of years underclassmen talent will shine, but for now seasoned-veterans are seriously lacking on the floor of the Peterson Event Center. Most would say that Gibbs along with Nasir Robinson are the two best players. However, there are many teams across the country that Gibbs and Robinson wouldn't have a chance of playing on -- think of your usual good Duke team year after year.

3. Pitt is missing some serious height! We are all used to basketball players being tall. Pitt has players under the six foot mark or hovering just above six foot tall.

4. The Panther are lacking elite guards. With a subpar season from Gibbs, Pitt is in need of some truly elite guards.

5. Perhaps, Pitt could use some work when it comes to player recruiting as well as player development. Pitt has gone hard on recruiting some players, but haven't really worked to develop their game. Additionally, Pitt has plenty of players on the court that need development despite the fact that they have been playing for a year or two.