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The Sports Xchange

OVERVIEW

After back-to-back national championships, the Gators lost eight major contributors in a two-year span.

Head coach Billy Donovan also bolted for the professional ranks, only to return to the school a week later. The coach, searching for a leader for his young 2007-08 team, turned to Speights, who was more than ready to answer the call.

Speights established himself as one of the most promising big men in the Southeastern Conference, as he proved that he could finish, rebound and pass effectively out of the post. After playing behind two NBA top-10 picks and an early second-round selection as a freshman, he saw his scoring increase from an average of 4.1 points per game his first year at the school to 14.5 points as a sophomore in 2007-08. Speights also showed strong rebounding skills, averaging 8.1 boards in 2007-08, compared to 2.6 per game the previous campaign.

The big man led a nomadic life before joining Florida in 2006-07. He began his prep career at Gibbs High School, later transferring to Admiral Farragut High during his junior year. He was rated among the nation's top 15 power forwards by Rivals.com, but was forced to attend Hargrave Military Academy as a senior in 2005-06 to improve his academics. At Hargrave, he averaged 17.9 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.

Speights enrolled at Florida in 2006-07, where he was extremely productive during his freshman year when called upon. He averaged 4.1 points and 2.6 rebounds in 5.7 minutes per game, by far the highest points per minute ratio of anyone on the Gator roster. He finished third on the team with 15 blocked shots. He also hit on 67.1 percent of his shots, a school freshman record for field goal percentage.

A member of the 2007-08 Naismith Award Watch List, the Orange Bowl Classic Most Valuable Player earned All-Southeastern Conference second-team honors from The NBA Draft Report. He started 35-of-36 games, seeing action mostly at center, but also appeared at power forward. He averaged 14.5 points per game, hitting 62.4 percent from the field (216-of-346 field goals) and hit on 90-of-130 free throws. He pulled down 290 rebounds for an 8.1 per-game average, blocked 49 shots, collected 34 assists and had 15 steals.

Speights finished the year playing some of his best basketball, averaging 17.3 points, averaging 8.8 rebounds and hitting 65.9 percent from the floor over the Gators' final eight games. On April 10, he decided to enter his name in the upcoming NBA Draft.

ANALYSIS

Positives: Has excellent length, leaping ability and good upper-body muscle tone ... His frame can carry at least another 15 pounds of bulk without having it affect his overall quickness ... Has a wide frame with the power to easily push the opponent out of the box ... Likes to get physical under the boards and shows good elevation crashing the offensive glass for rebounds and put-backs ... Has that long wingspan needed to move out and cover forwards and shooting guards along the perimeter ... Not really explosive getting up and down the court, but has enough athleticism, power and lateral agility to be effective in the half-court game ... Has the strength to obliterate small opponents who enter the lane, also showing excellent balance and anchor when setting a the screen ... With that strength and ability to move out to the perimeter on defense, he might be a better fit at power forward than in the middle in the NBA ... Plays with a tireless work ethic, but could improve his conditioning a bit, as he has had stamina issues late in games and is a bit soft-bodied at the waist and up ... Has become a student of the game and plays with good urgency, but also with better control, resulting in a great reduction in frequency of turnovers and fouls from his freshman to sophomore years ... Fluid and coordinated, especially when having to move laterally ... Lacks great speed and is more suited for a half-court game, but won't lag behind much on the fast break ... For a player his size, he runs the court well and can explode finishing at the basket and has the quick feet to get back in a hurry to thwart the fast break (draws comparisons to Juwan Howard in this area) ... More comfortable playing with his back to the basket and can be very physical inside the paint, but has started to develop the range to force a defender to come out and cover him when operating along the perimeter ... His touch in the paint makes him a valid scorer in the transition game ... Good hustler who shows urgency getting after missed shots ... Solid rebounder, but should still improve with increased bulk and power ... Uses length and elevation well, timing his leaps to develop into an above-average shot-blocker ... Plays with good aggression and it is rare to see him back off an opponent when going for the rebound ... Few players show the true aggression and strength that Speights displays blocking out ... His jump hook is effective from 8 feet and closer, but he can also come up with an emphatic jam when driving hard to the basket ... Quick in the paint and has strong moves to draw contact on the way to the basket, showing improvement as a free-throw shooter ... Has an effective "baby" hook, showing the touch to finish with either hand ... Not the type that will force his shot and shows good patience and selection (could use more moves)...Balance and determination will generally see him draw contact ... Better when scoring underneath, but can hit the 15-foot baseline jumper ... Can spin away from the crowd and execute the turnaround jumper, even when he is pressured or has to angle his way for off-balance shots ... Excels on the pick-and-roll, displaying natural hands to field the post-entry pass and nimble feet ... Not the greatest passer and tends to get careless and fire the ball to tight areas, but has shown enough improvement the second half of his sophomore year to not be a liability in this area ... Works well in unison with his guards to advance the ball and get into the action for the transition basket ... Not always comfortable facing the basket, but he has enough athleticism to slip past slower defenders ... On defense, he has good vision and a feel for the outlet pass when getting into position to make the rebound or alter the opponent's shot ... Has very good hands to secure the pass or prevent guards from stripping him from the ball playing off the dribble ... Has good passing ability and is an unselfish player who would rather feed his teammates that take a risky shot ... Does a good job of getting the ball passed around vs. double teams ... His overall defensive game needs major refinement, but while he lacks explosion, he gets a fair share of blocked shots, thanks to his elevation, timing and huge wingspan ... Pester-type working under the basket, as he manages to get his hand into the action to steal the ball or force the turnover ... Right-hand dominant, but also shows good ability to block shots with his left.

Negatives: Lacks the size to play quality minutes at center at the next level, but is physical and strong enough to prevent bigger men from pushing him out of the paint ... Has a tireless work ethic, but is prone to concentration lapses and lacks explosion to handle the fast break often ... Poor stamina will cause tick-tack fouls when he tires...Despite his obvious strength, he try to do too much and will turn to finesse rather than just drive and draw contact on the way to the basket ... Possibly a product of his youth, but will frustrate coaches when he loses focus on the court (when his mind is in the game, he can take over the action) ... His tempo seems to wane vs. marginal competition and the coaches prod him not to play to the level of his opponent ... Would be an even more effective rebounder if he had a better understanding for zone concepts and showed more consistent court awareness ... More right-hand dominant, especially when having to shoot against his body and needs to show more confidence in his left hand ... Leaves his feet and can be drawn into foul trouble ... Lacks decent counter moves when a physical defender stalemates him, putting up the ball at ill-advised times ... Has made strides as a scorer, but lacks the ability to create shots for himself and must develop more consistent post moves ... Lacks ball-handling skills and allows too much space in the paint when he should be defending ... Must also show better ability to hedge on the pick-and-roll, as he does not rotate to help out on defense much ... Must show better urgency attacking perimeter shooters and when playing near the rim, he will tend to forget that he needs to box out his man ... Has a poor face-the-basket game and needs to work on fundamentals, as he does not always get into proper position to get to the pass in the paint.

Compares To: AL JEFFERSON-Minnesota ... At this stage of his game, Speights is a better option at power forward than he would be as an NBA center. He has the frame, hands and wingspan to excel as a scorer with his back to the basket. He is very effective finishing under the rim and is starting to develop decent mid-range scoring touch. He tends to lose focus on the court, almost looking as if he is disinterested in playing, drawing the ire of the coaching staff. He is very determined to get to the rebounds, especially off the offensive glass. While his ball-handling skills leave a lot to be desired, he is a developing passer who just needs a patient coach to unearth his hidden talent.

CAREER NOTES:

In two seasons at Florida, Speights started 35-of-69 games ... Scored 656 points (9.5 per game) on 273-of-431 field goals (63.3 percent) and 110-of-160 free throws (68.8 percent) ... Registered 376 rebounds ((5.4 per game) with 64 blocked shots (0.9 per game), 23 steals (0.3 per game) and 36 assists (0.5 per game) while turning the ball over 79 times ... His shooting percentage of 67.1 in 2006-07 set a school season-record for freshman, breaking the previous mark of 60.5 percent by Chris Richard in 2003-04 ... Only Richard (.690 in 2006-07; .698 in 2005-06) and Dwayne Davis (.722 in 1988-89) had a better shooting percentage from the field in a season for the Gators ... His field-goal percentage of 62.4 percent in 2007-08 rank ninth on the school single-season list ... His 49 blocked shots in 2007-08 rank 10th on the Florida annual record list ... Made 63.3 percent of his field-goal tries, topped only by Dwayne Davis (.641; 572-of-892, 1988-91) on the school chart.

2007-08 SEASON

All-Southeastern Conference second-team choice by The NBA Draft Report ... Named MVP of the Orange Bowl Classic ... Member of the Naismith Award Watch List (college basketball's top player) ... Played in 36 games, starting the first 35 contests at center while also seeing action at power forward ... Shot .624 from the field (216-of-346) and .692 from the line (90-of-130), scoring 522 points for a 14.5 average ... Piled up 874 minutes of action, as he hauled down 290 rebounds (8.1 rpg), had 34 assists (0.9 apg), 15 steals (0.4 spg) and led the team with 49 blocked shots, the 10th-best season total in school annals ... Had 62 turnovers and 82 personal fouls, fouling out of one contest.

2007-08 SEASON

ANALYSIS

2006-07 SEASON

Speights was extremely productive during his freshman year when called upon, as he averaged 4.1 points and 2.6 rebounds in 5.7 minutes per game, by far the highest points-per-minute ratio on the Gators' roster ... Made 57-of-85 field goals, as his percentage of .671 set the school record for freshmen ... Made 20-of-30 free throws (66.7 percent) and averaged 2.6 rebounds per game (86 total) ... Third on the team with 15 blocked shots ... Added eight steals with two assists ... Had 17 turnovers and 38 fouls in 189 minutes of action during 33 games as a reserve center and combo forward.

2006-07 GAME ANALYSIS

Made his collegiate debut in the season-opening win over Samford, scoring two points and blocking a shot in three minutes...Netted eight points on 4-of-6 shooting, and grabbed eight rebounds, in 10 minutes vs. North Florida... Scored four points and swatted a shot in eight minutes vs. Jacksonville...Pulled down six rebounds to go along with his six points in the win over Chattanooga...Registered his first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Prairie View, becoming the first UF freshman to accomplish the feat since Al Horford did so in 2005 vs. Alabama...Had five points, two rebounds and a career-high two blocks vs. Western Kentucky...Grabbed a pair of rebounds in the Kansas game...Turned in his second career double-double in the win over Southern, finishing with 12 points and a career-best 12 rebounds, along with three blocks...Knocked down 2-of-3 shots, for five points, and grabbed two rebounds vs. Florida State...Had eight points, five boards, two blocks and two steals in the victory over FAMU...Scored eight points on 4-of-5 shooting and blocked a shot vs. Stetson...Tallied eight points, seven rebounds and a blocked shot in just seven minutes of action vs. Liberty...Recorded a steal in three minutes of work vs. Georgia in the SEC opener...Posted four points, five rebounds and a block in 10 minutes of action in the win over Arkansas...Scored four points and grabbed a rebound in the South Carolina game...Came off the bench with 7:15 left in the first half vs. Alabama and sparked an 8-2 run, contributed eight points on 4-of-4 shooting in just five minutes...Grabbed six boards in just five minutes vs. Arkansas in the championship game of the SEC Tournament...Hit for a season-best 16 points and ripped down six rebounds vs. Jackson State in New Orleans, as he also set season-highs for field goals (seven) and field goal attempts (10) in the victory...Came up with two points and a steal in three minutes vs. Purdue in the second round of the NCAA Tournament...Chipped in with two points and a pair of rebounds vs. Ohio State in the national championship game.

INJURY REPORT

HIGH SCHOOL

Attended Gibbs (St. Petersburg, Fla.) High School as a freshman and sophomore before transferring to Admiral Farragut High during his junior campaign ... Moved to Hargrove Military Academy (Va.) in 2005-06, where he averaged 17.9 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game in his one season ... Ranked as one of the nation's top 15 power forwards by Rivals.com.

PERSONAL

General Studies major ... Born 4/04/87 ... Resides in St. Petersburg, Florida.