Pitt Needs More from Brown

Gilbert Brown has proven over his career at Pitt that he is a fantastic role player. The fifth year senior is a terrific athlete, excellent defender, good rebounder, strong finisher and has even improved his jumpshot to the point that it is respectable. It has also become clear that Brown will never develop into the star some people believed he might early in his career after witnessing one of his incredible dunks or fabulous defensive plays. That does not mean he does not have more to give to this current Panthers team.

For the season, Brown is averaging 10.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game to go along with his stellar defense. Those are decent, but not great numbers and not all that much different than his numbers from a year ago. Balance is a trademark of Jamie Dixon teams and scoring has never been Brown’s forte but still, a jump in scoring should have been expected for a guy entering his fifth year in the program. What is more telling, however, is that while Brown has improved his free throw shooting, both his three-point and overall field-goal percentages have gone down from last year. Brown’s two-point field goal percentage has dropped significantly. This confirms what my eyes have been telling me in that Brown is not getting the easy baskets in transition and dunks in the half court like he was in the past.

Last year it was inconsistency that plagued Brown on the offensive end where he seemingly scored 20 points or 5 points from game to game. This year, while being a little more consistent, we have yet to see the explosiveness he showed in games last year. Case in point: Brown has scored 20 points only once this season and has scored more than 15 in only two other games while scoring more than 15 in a third of his games just a season ago.

One could say that Brown has taken a back seat to Ashton Gibbs and Brad Wannamaker on the offensive end but even in the three games that Gibbs missed with a knee injury, Brown failed to step his game up, only scoring a total of 24 points over the three contests. The Panthers were able to win those three games without Gibbs, in part because of Brown’s and the rest of the team’s defensive effort, but if the Panthers are going to reach their goals this season, most notably a Final Four appearance, both Brown and the Panthers are going to need to produce a little more firepower in the offensive end.

Pitt is having a fantastic season and is poised to earn a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament. Gilbert Brown’s role as a complimentary piece is a big reason why the Panthers are enjoying so much success but more can be expected of the senior. I am not saying the Panthers need Brown to become a 20 point per game scorer to reach the Final Four, but an offensive outburst here or there could sure enhance their chances.