Silly Marreese, the NBA is for big boys.
Here's what Marreese Speights has proven:
1. He is a very talented basketball player.
2. He can hit some smooth jump shots, a skill which some NBA big men never master.
3. He can easily develop a strong NBA body.
Here's what he has yet to prove:
1. He is a very talented basketball player who plays well on a consistent basis.
2. He is a big man who can rumble with actual big men.
3. He has a body that doesn't struggle to get up and down the court without leaving him gasping for air.
Yes, he makes more money now by jumping to the NBA Draft. I'm fairly convinced he'll be picked in the first round and won't sink to the second. But he could be losing out on a whole lot of money down the road, something my young colleague Mike'd Up fails to mention.
Would Speights be competing for a national championship if he came back? That's not happening. But he could've been perhaps the most publicized player - until teams realize how skilled Nick Calathes is - on a team that could make a Sweet 16 run.
Sure, he'll make good money for three or four years. Then he might be fighting for a job once his contract is up. But if he stayed one more year, he could be cashing in after those three or four years.
Let's get this straight: A player doesn't go all-out in trying to make the NBA, so let's just pay him millions of dollars and see if he plays harder then? Way to understand the mindset of early 20-something young men, NBA general managers.
During the fourth quarter of the NBA Finals Game 5, Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers was telling his team that mental toughness would be the key to the rest of the game. You can get by without that in college. You can't in the NBA, and that is something Speights will have to learn the hard way.
Joakim Noah could've left after his sophomore year and still have been successful. Al Horford and probably Corey Brewer, too. Physically, they weren't as ready as they were after their junior years, but they were still mentally tough. Speights isn't.
I fully believe Speights has close to the same talent as Noah and Horford, but he doesn't have anything else that has led those two to their success. And one more year under Billy Donovan would certainly help in that regard.
He'd take Speights from barely able to run up and down the court to jogging from Museum Road to I-75 easily. He'd help Speights go from solely a finesse big man to an enforcer down low.
Speights could get better by going against the most talented power forwards and centers in the world, and he could also easily lose confidence after he gets dunked on for the 83rd time in practice. Marreese doesn't know how to lead, and he doesn't know how to handle struggles. At least, he hasn't shown so yet.
Maybe he can develop that in the NBA, but it's much easier in a college game where you won't have fans booing you because their team is wasting millions of dollars on you. For now, Speights has to rely mostly on his raw talent, which - to be fair - is a lot of talent. But it's not usually the most talented players that make it. Just ask Kwame Brown and Michael Olowokandi.
General managers are looking at Speights' body and skills and seeing massive potential. Unfortunately, that's all they may ever see.
