Submit your Pitt basketball question

Thanks for participating in the Pitt basketball Q&A.

Keep the questions rolling in and I will answer them every day throughout the season and March Madness.

You can follow the Panthers daily here as well as on my new Pitt basketball blog on PG-Plus. Membership in that site is only $3.99 per month or $36 per year.

One other thing -- my weekly live Pitt basketball chats will take place Tuesdays at 12:30 p.m..

Q: I've watched quite a bit of men's college basketball this season (mostly ranked teams) and I must say that Pitt's talent does not even come close to these other teams. There is not one Pitt player who could start on any of the teams in the Top 25. There is not one player on Pitt's team who has the ability to create his own shot. The low post game is non-existent, the defense and rebounding are poor, and the number of inexcusable turnovers is through the roof. I know that we've been spoiled by all of the good Pitt teams this past decade, but how can Jamie Dixon allow this program to drop off so dramatically? These current players have all been recruited by him and they all seem to have about the same ability ... average Division I players, at best.

Kevin, McKees Rocks

FITTIPALDO: You might be selling Ashton Gibbs and Brad Wanamaker a little short. I think they are the two players who could start for a few of the ranked teams. I'm not saying they're all-Big East players, but they are good players.

But your point is well taken. Pitt is, quite obviously, a little short on talent compared to previous seasons. Sometimes that happens when a player such as DeJuan Blair leaves two years early for the NBA. Pitt would be ranked and doing quite well with Blair. But without him, players who would be in secondary roles are being thrust into primary roles. And there is a domino effect throughout the lineup. When you factor in the injury to Jermaine Dixon and the suspension of Gilbert Brown, Pitt's talent problems become magnified.

I would caution people not to judge this team until mid- to late-January. By then, Jamie Dixon will have his full complement of players. But until then you're watching a bunch of inexperienced players find their way in Division I basketball. And let's give credit where credit is due. Pitt could easily be 6-4 instead of 8-2. This team found ways to win with a depleted lineup early in the season.

Check out Ray Fittipaldo's Pitt B-Ball blog and Paul Zeise's Pitt Stop videos about football exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.