What They're Saying: Marreese Speights

Marreese Speights, #34, Forward-Center, Florida Gators
Height: 6-10, Weight: 245
Previous School: Hargrave Military Academy
Hometown: St. Petersburg, FL

 

Career																					Rebounds					Misc
Year		G	Min																		Off	Def	Tot			Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
2006-07		33	5.7																		1.2	1.5	2.6			0.1	0.5	0.2	0.5	1.2	4.1
2007-08		36	24.3																		2.6	5.5	8.1			0.9	1.7	0.4	1.4	2.3	14.5
Career		69	15.4																		1.9	3.6	5.5			0.5	1.1	0.3	1.0	1.8	9.5

stats from yahoo.com

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Tony DiLeo, via Phil Jasner, Daily News

"We feel [Speights] is a great fit for our team," said Tony DiLeo, the Sixers senior vice president and assistant general manager. "First of all, we're a running team and he's one of the best running big men in the draft.

"Second of all, we need some post-up presence; even though he is not developed fully yet he can score with both hands around the basket.

"Third, we need some outside shooting; not only can he score inside, he can score outside. And fourth, we like versatile players; we think that eventually he will be able to play both positions, power forward center. And fifth, he's a good person; he fits in with his character. We did a lot of research on him. He fits our team like a glove."

Bob Ford, Inquirer
If Speights is the power forward, Young the small forward, and Mystery Acquisition the shooting guard of the future, where does Iguodala play? He's not a point guard. As demonstrated painfully during the brief playoff appearance against Detroit, he's not a shooting guard. And, honestly, are you going to pay him $12 million a year to split time with Young at small forward?

Draft Diaries
Bill Simmons, espn.com
6:02: Mareesse Speights goes No. 16 (to Philly) and gets the dreaded "Must improve: Conditioning" graphic. Get that man a treadmill.

Free Darko, at deadspin.com
-16. Sixers: Marreese Speights. I like this pick. As much as I wanted them to take another wing, Speights has a chance to be what Reggie Evans was for those two games when he was busy being something far, far greater than Reggie Evans.

Dan Wetzel, Yahoo Sports
Philadelphia picks Marreese Speights of Florida, whose name spelling seems inspired by Mississippi. - 9:05 pm

Jay Bilas is already questioning Speights' work ethic and his interest in fighting through exhaustion. Hey, nothing motivates a guy like a multimillion dollar guaranteed contract. We can't see where this possibly could go wrong. - 9:13 pm EDT

This suddenly seems like a Billy King selection (boy, we miss him too). Of course, Speights can at least shoot it. And Bilas mighjt just be laying down one of his patented "defend the fired Dookie" rips, which always is fun to decipher. You never know. - 9:13 pm EDT

Blogs
Henry Abbott, True Hoop
Marrese Speights at 16, he's the second best offensive big in draft, behind Beasley. It'll be interesting. It's possible that he'll find his role on the team. He's athletic and skilled. But it's also possible -- he'll be playing, presumably, behind Jason Smith who was drafted in a similar spot last year -- that two years from now you will never remember his name. He could spend time in D League this year.

Dimemag.com
He’s got the tools to be a great offensive player. While Joe Alexander wowed everybody in his workouts, Speights wasn’t far behind in his individual evals. He has a “beautiful” hook shot and an “even prettier” turn-around jumper. However, Speights’ level of intensity during the three-on-three workouts was abysmal at times, which reflected a general criticism of his tendency to take some plays off, or even entire games off.

Shawn Chacon, chokeyourGM.com
He continued and was basically yelling and stuff and was like, ‘You need to (expletive) look in the mirror.’ So at that point I lost my cool and I grabbed him by the neck and threw him to the ground. I jumped on top of him because at that point I wanted to beat his (butt). Words were exchanged.”  (Whoops wrong post...)

Player page
ESPN.com
Chad Ford's Analysis: I like this pick for Philly. Speights has a lot of talent and he fits a need for Philly. He's an excellent offensive player who can score in the post and facing the basket, and he can rebound. He is kind of a poor man's Elton Brand.

Draft Projection: Lottery to mid first round

Notes: Speight's per-40-minute numbers as a freshman were off the charts. He
averaged 28.3 points and 18.2 rebounds.

Positives: Huge body with good athleticism and strength. Good low-post scorer. Efficient. Quick in the paint. Impressive low-post moves for a sophomore. Good defender and shot-blocker. Excellent rebounder. Tough.

Negatives: His conditioning is still an issue. He needs to work on his jump shot. He doesn't have a great face the basket game. Might be a little undersized to play center in the NBA. Scouts question his work ethic.

Summary: With Al Horford and Joakim Noah in the NBA, a lot fell on Speight's large shoulders at Florida -- and he delivered. Like Horford and Noah, he did big things in around 24 minutes per game. A likely late lottery to mid first-round pick.

NBA.com
Career Highlights: Emerged as a sophomore after serving as a backup to current NBA players Al Horford, Joakim Noah and Chris Richard as a freshman on Florida’s 2007 NCAA Championship team. Currently ranks eighth all-time in Florida history in blocked shots per game (0.93 bpg). Would also rank second all-time in field goal percentage (.633) but falls just short of the minimum qualifications of 500 career field goal attempts. Has registered 12 career double-doubles.

Strengths: Extremely big and strong but surprisingly quick and athletic. Has great hands and some effective go-to moves on offense. Competes hard on the boards and on the defensive end, using his long wingspan to block shots.

Comments

[Kulp]

Bob Ford, Inquirer
If Speights is the power forward, Young the small forward, and Mystery Acquisition the shooting guard of the future, where does Iguodala play?

Um... Washington? Atlanta?

Speights was the best player available for the Sixers. Whether he develops into a pro is up to him.

[Walklett]

I was talking to a Florida Gators fan during the draft, follows them closely, who said Philadelphia fans are gonna hate this guy. He is notorious for not running up and down the floor, flat out lazy. This statement was made immediately after they announced the pick. Then sure enough, they showed his stat lines with "must improve: conditioning." Jay Bilas went on to say that Speights needs to work on finding his physical limits and push past them.

I'm not very optimistic about the pick. I hope he proves everyone wrong...