Does Speights Matter?
by mlmintampa on Jun 25, 2008 10:05 AM EDT
in Basketball
5 comments
Another season and another first round draft pick for the Florida Gators. Marreese Speights is nearly a lock for the first round in Thursday’s NBA Draft. NBA scouts look beyond his relative lack of fitness and see the .624 field goal percentage and averages of 14.5 points and 8.1 boards a game. Put him in an NBA system, where he can be tutored by Shaq (in
But does his decision to go pro really matter? Was there ever a point this season where you said, “Wow, Speights is dominating here.” If there was, let me know. Because for better or worse, the offensive options for UF were;
1a. Calathes outside
1b. Calathes inside
3. Who ever has the ball with five on the shot clock whenever Calathes is sitting
Calathes is the most dynamic player the Gators have. In the absence of players matching his caliber or willing to support him, the team fails. If
Speights’ exit means the reinforcements coming in (Allan Chaney, Kenny Kadji, Eloy Vargas) will have to play more as freshman, which is what everyone wants anyway. I’m not trying to downplay the output of Speights, but being the most efficient player on the floor will not get you the ball when you’re only out there half the time. He is truly heading for greener pastures. Now it’s up to Calathes to take the reins and realize that there are four other dudes on the floor. Some of them may actually be able to shoot too.
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Yes
Having a junior playing center who has SEC game experience versus a true freshman is a big deal, even if Speights never truly dominated. He lengthens the rotation and gives Billy more flexibility with substitutions.
I know that we’re not looking at another championship even with Speights back next year, but he would help the team in several ways. He would get them closer to a conference title of some sort, so yeah, it matters for UF.
misstated
i don’t think you can really say that calathes needs to realize that there are 4 others players out there when he set a school record for assists.
Calathes
It’s a little of a backhanded compliment, but I’m trying to say the team is Calathes’ team. Speights leaving only makes the transition quicker. And yes, Calathes led the team in assists, but it’s not always about a pass leading to a field goal. He’s got to organize the offense too. I think this season he will have a better understanding about that, especially if he plays with the Greek Olympic team. The International game depends on outside passing.
mlmintampa
UF C/O 06
Calathes
Cut the guy a little slack. Not only did he lead the conference in assists and set a team record, but he did os as a true freshman. Contrast that to what the ‘04s were expected to contribute their freshman seasons. They were worked in slowly with a few minutes off the bench here and there.
Not only was it a UF record, but I believe it was the second highest number of assists in SEC history. That is an unheard of accomplishment for a freshman.
Now consider who he had to pass to and you can really see how historic his numbers were last season.
Let’s hope he gets even better this season. As for Speights – I wish he would have played one more year. I don’t think he and Donovan saw eye to eye.
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