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Authored by Christopher Reina - 6th June, 2008 - 10:34 am
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Joakim Noah and Al Horford are already looking like successful young NBA bigs, and Marreese Speights is yet another Gator well on his way to joining them in meaningful ways on the next level.
If his performances during his freshman season in limited playing time weren’t encouraging enough, he was tremendous both on tape and in the stat sheet this season.
With impeccable strength, athleticism, and balance, there is not a power forward prospect in this draft outside of Michael Beasley who is more NBA-ready yet also shows enough room for improvement to develop into an All-Star.
His conditioning has been an issue, and he is typically limited to short floor stints, but it is due to how amazingly active he is on both sides of the floor and at all times. Speights’ in-game work ethic is as impressive as any player on any level, and I frankly do not understand those common criticisms of his game; I have not seen the same things from all of the film I’ve seen on him.
He is extremely quick from end line to end line despite having such a large frame, frequently beating his man down the floor for easy baskets in Florida’s early offense for an easy layup or lob.
Speights is extremely sophisticated on the pick and roll and would be a huge asset on teams like Utah, Phoenix, and Golden State. Many of his dunks come from how powerfully and fundamentally sound he rolls to the rim. He covers ground from the top of the key to the rim as quickly as any prospect and is very aware of his precise location in relation to the passer, defenders, and the basket.
He gets deep into the paint where he cannot be stopped and will catch a bad pass or a bullet pass as well as a good one. His hands are remarkable, and he doesn’t need to waste time gathering himself before finishing lay-ups and dunks because he catches the ball so firmly and purely.
What makes him even more dangerous with the pick and roll is his excellent vision as a passer. Defenders must not only attempt to slow him down as he goes down the key with the ball but must also respect his ability to find a baseline cutter for an easy bucket.
In the post, Speights could use a little more variation with his moves but has a nice skill set here already. He has a baby hook and can finish with strength and touch from either hand although the left is still a bit awkward at times yet surprisingly accurate (he had four makes with the left in the NIT against ASU). He doesn’t rush himself, has great balance, and will draw contact and finish and 1’s. If the defender leaves himself vulnerable by getting into the air, he will bang into him to get to the line.
He also has nice vision across the court and will find an open perimeter shooter from the mid-post to the free throw line extended on the other side of the floor.
Speights' shot can certainly improve, but he has very good mechanics and a natural touch. He is confident from 15-feet in on the baseline and on the elbow and has shown the ability to extend beyond that when open.
Speights is a lunch-pail worker on the offensive glass with the skills and physicality to make him elite.
He is almost like a hockey player when he boxes out because he is so aggressive. Quite simply, he is as physical on the glass as any player I’ve seen in a long time.
He quickly looks for the outlet pass when catching a defensive rebound, wasting very little time largely because he is so sure-handed. He’ll even look to advance the ball towards halfcourt if a guard can get open to trigger a transaction opportunity.
On the offensive end, he is excellent at sensing when a teammate will take a shot. This allows him to get into a prime position where he anticipates the miss will rebound. Even though he is so wide, he is also very long to the ball and will get a fingertip on it to keep it alive.
When he does grab an offensive rebound, he will either go up strong without bringing the ball down or use a power dribble to create space. Nearly every defensive rebound Florida’s opponents grab is tightly contested because of Speights.
He jumps straight up when going for blocks and will go up with either hand. Speights will block shots on help defense and can also block his own man’s shot. Furthermore, the protection of the rim is an extreme priority. He guards the rim and refuses to allow easy dunks on his watch.
- Click here to see our full list of 2008 Draft Prospect Reports
Christopher Reina is the executive editor of RealGM. He can be reached at Chris.Reina@RealGM.com where he may use your draft questions in a future mailbag edition |
