Marreese Speights

Marreese Akeem Speights (born August 4, 1987) is an American professional basketball player who is a center for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Speights played college basketball for the University of Florida, where he was a freshman member of the Florida Gators' NCAA national championship team in 2007. The Philadelphia 76ers picked him in the first round of the 2008 NBA Draft.

Early years

Speights was born in St. Petersburg, Florida. He played basketball at Admiral Farragut Academy where they retired his jersey number after just one year.^[1] He also played basketball at Hargrave Military Academy.

College career

Speights began his career at Florida in 2006, and averaged approximately four points and two rebounds in only six minutes per game as a freshman for the national champion Gators. He saw few minutes because of other big men Al Horford, Joakim Noah, and Chris Richard.

Speights ended the 2007–08 season averaging 14.5 points, 8.1 rebounds per game and 1.4 blocks per game. After his sophomore season, he declared himself eligible for the 2008 NBA Draft,^[2] held on June 26. Speights confirmed with Florida coach Billy Donovan on June 12, 2008 that he would not be returning to the Gators.^[3]

NBA career

Rookie Season

Speights was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 16th pick of the first round in the 2008 NBA Draft. He signed with Philadelphia on July 18, 2008.^[4] That same season was his best so far with the 76ers, scoring with a field-goal percentage of .502 from the field, playing 79 games, shooting at a .205% from 3-point range, and shooting .773 from the free throw line.

Sophomore Season

Marreese's second season with the 76ers started off on a high note as he saw a slight increase in playing time and put up good numbers. He scored 15 or more points in 5 of his first 10 games, and was a vital part of the team's frontcourt until he was injured. In the 4th quarter of November 14's game versus the Chicago Bulls, Speights injured his left knee. An MRI revealed a partial tear of the Medial collateral ligament (MCL). He missed 14 games and came back December 16, to play 22 minutes in a losing effort against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Since the injury, his playing time has been limited, mostly because of the increased production from Elton Brand.

Year 3

The 76ers hired Doug Collins as their new head coach for the 2010-11 season. Known for his defensive-minded coaching philosophy, this shift in team focus adversely affected Speights, who is known more for his offensive capabilities. Frequent clashes with the coaching staff led to a career-low 11.5 minutes per contest. He did, however, get one start against the New Orleans Hornets on January 3, 2011 and notched 12 points and six rebounds. For the season, he averaged 5.4 points and 3.3 rebounds, both career lows.

Year 4

On January 4, 2012, Speights was acquired by Memphis Grizzlies as a part of a three-team trade that sent Xavier Henry to New Orleans Hornets and two future second round picks to Philadelphia 76ers.^[5]

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

See also

• Florida Gators
• List of Florida Gators basketball players

References