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Former Gator Marreese Speights Named Assistant Coach at Georgia Southern

Collegiate and professional national champion Marreese Speights will test the coaching waters at Georgia Southern starting in 2023-24.

Brandon Carroll

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Photo: Marreese Speights; Credit: University of Florida

Marreese Speights is going from Gator to GATA.

The former Florida Gators center and decade-long NBA veteran has accepted an assistant coaching position under Charlie Henry at Georgia Southern. He announced the move via his Twitter account.

“I'm excited to be joining the Georgia Southern and Statesboro community," said Speights per the Georgia Southern team website. "I built a relationship with Coach Henry through guys we both connected with in the NBA, and he is a coach who is really smart, especially offensively, and knows how to build a program, which he demonstrated during his time at Alabama. 

“I look forward to having an impact in developing and mentoring our players, both on and off the court."

Speights shouldered a large load for the Gators in their transition out of the back-to-back national championship era during the 2007-08 season as frontcourt pieces Al Horford and Joakim Noah departed for the NBA.

As a freshman, he saw the floor sparingly in a rotational role for those two, but posted an impressive 4.1 points in just under six minutes of action per contest.

The St. Petersburg (Fla.) native scored 14.5 points per game to provide secondary scoring efforts to Nick Calathes as a sophomore. He added 8.1 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per contest in 36 appearances that season.

Despite the quick decline that occurred during that season, with Florida feeling the ill effects of a vastly new roster makeup and missing the tournament, Speights proved to be a talented big man with an elite-level scoring prowess.

He entered his name into the 2008 NBA Draft following his lone year as a full-time starter. The decision paid dividends for the former Gator as he was selected No. 16 by the Philadelphia 76ers.

He quickly became a journeyman after three years in the City of Brotherly Love, suiting up for six squads in 10 years.

The most productive stint of his career came as part of the Golden State Warriors, spending three seasons in San Francisco and aiding the unit to an NBA Finals victory over Cleveland in 2015.

He finished his professional career averaging 7.9 points and 4.1 rebounds in 705 total games. 

Now in his post-retirement career, Speights will remain around the game by taking the entry-level coaching position in Statesboro, Ga. The Eagles are trying to improve off a 17-16 (9-9 Sun Belt) 2022-23 season.

As one of just 33 players to win a collegiate and NBA championship, former Gators standout will look to aid in that endeavor.

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Brandon Carroll
BRANDON CARROLL

Brandon Carroll is a recent graduate of the University of Florida. He serves as the lead reporter for the Florida Gators FanNation-Sports Illustrated website, covering football, basketball and recruiting. When he isn't hard at work, he enjoys listening to music, playing flag football and basketball, spending time with his friends and family, and watching an array of television shows. Follow him on Twitter @itsbcarroll.

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