Marreese Akeem Speights is a former professional basketball player from the United States of America who played as a power forward. Speights began his high school career at the Admiral Farragut Academy, playing there for just a single season. Such was Speights’ contribution to the team that the academy retired his jersey despite Speights just playing there for a single season.
He moved to the Hargrave Military Academy in just second season, ending his high school career there.
Speights went to the University of Florida where he won the national championships as part of the Gators, in his freshman year. In a team that had the likes of Al Horford, Chris Richard and Joakim Noah, Speights barely got a look in.
His sophomore season saw a lot more action as Speights, playing as the center, averaged 14.5 points per game with 1.4 blocks and 8.1 rebounds per game in 2007-08. Sophomore season over, Speights decided to declare for the 2008 NBA Draft.
Speights was picked at 16th overall, by the Philadelphia 76ers.
His first season with the Sixers saw him play 79 games with just 2 starts, averaging 16 minutes per game with 7.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. His contribution improved a bit in 2009-10 although he did get just 16.3 minutes per game. Speights was scoring at 8.6 points per game with 4.2 rebounds in the 40 games he had played, without starting a single game.
