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76ers Take UF's Speights At No. 16

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By NICK WILLIAMS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 27, 2008

In 2007, five players from the two-time national champion Florida men's basketball team were taken in the NBA draft.

The Gators settled for the NIT this past season and Thursday during the 2008 NBA draft, had just one player drafted when the Philadelphia 76ers made sophomore and St. Petersburg native Marreese Speights the 16th overall pick.

Speights, a 6-foot-10 forward/center who played at Gibbs High and Admiral Farragut before transferring to Hargrave Military Academy his senior year of high school, averaged 14.5 points, a team-high 8.1 rebounds and 1.4 blocked shots per game for UF last season. He averaged only 4.1 points in 5.7 minutes per game as a freshman when he played behind current NBA players Al Horford, Joakim Noah and Chris Richard.

"I want to thank my family and the Gator basketball staff for helping me be in a position to be picked 16th by Philadelphia," Speights said in a statement released by the university. "I look forward to working extremely hard and developing into the best player I can become. I know this won't be easy but I am ready for the challenge."

He is the fourth Florida player to be drafted in the first round in the last two years. Horford (No. 3, Atlanta), Corey Brewer (No. 7, Minnesota) and Noah (No. 9, Chicago) were lottery picks last year.

No player from Florida State, USF or Miami was taken in the draft. Last year, FSU forward Al Thornton was taken by the Los Angeles Clippers as the 14th overall pick while Richard (41st to Minnesota) and former Florida guard Taurean Green (52nd, Portland) were taken in the second round.

Former Hillsborough Community College forwards Othello Hunter and Keith Brumbaugh were expected to go in the second round, but were not selected.

Before transferring to Ohio State, Hunter earned honorable mention NJCAA All-America honors while at HCC his sophomore year, averaging 16.8 points and 11.4 rebounds per game.

This past season, Brumbaugh, a sophomore, led the national junior college ranks with 35 points per game. Brumbaugh was named Mr. Florida Basketball in 2005 and declared for the draft as a senior in high school but later withdrew to sign with Oklahoma State.

Reporter Nick Williams can be reached at (813) 865-4848 or nwilliams@tampatrib.com.

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