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 last season in limited playing time weren?t encouraging enough, he has been tremendous both on tape and in the stat sheet this season.
With impeccable strength, athleticism, and balance, there may not be a power forward prospect in college basketball 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.
He is extremely quick from end line to end line, frequently beating his man down the floor for easy baskets in Florida?s early offense.
Speights is extremely sophisticated on the pick and roll and would be a huge asset on teams like Utah, Phoenix, and Golden State (as a GSW fan, I'm not sure there is another player beyond Beasley in this class who fills a team need more than Speights). Many of his dunks come from how powerfully 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 with either hand. He doesn?t rush himself, has great balance, and will draw contact and finish and 1?s.
Speights' shot isn?t at the level of a Darrell Arthur, but he has very good mechanics and a natural touch. He is confident from 15-feet in on the baseline and on the elbow.
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 ahead towards halfcourt if a guard can get open to trigger a transaction bucket.
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.
The final month and a half of his sophomore season will undoubtedly be intriguing as we see if he can take his game to another level, but he already is a solid late lottery pick and can end up in the top-six or seven by the end of June.
Past Prospect Reports
Prospect Reports on Dozier, Douglas-Roberts and Dorsey of Memphis
Prospect Report on Derrick Rose of Memphis
Prospect Report on Michael Beasley of Kansas State
Prospect Report on D.J. Augustin of Texas
Prospect Report on Jordan Hill of Arizona
Prospect Report on Jerryd Bayless of Arizona
Prospect Report on O.J. Mayo of USC
Prospect Report on Davon Jefferson of USC
Prospect Report on Eric Gordon of Indiana
Christopher Reina is the executive editor of RealGM. He can be reached at Christopher.Reina@RealGM.com where he may use your draft questions in a future mailbag edition