High School

Northside Christian (Florida) names Marreese Speights head boys basketball coach

The 10-year NBA veteran and St. Petersburg native gets his first high school head coaching job.

Ross Van De Griek

Feb 14, 2018; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic forward Marreese Speights (5) celebrates as he makes a three pointers against the Charlotte Hornets during the first quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images
Feb 14, 2018; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic forward Marreese Speights (5) celebrates as he makes a three pointers against the Charlotte Hornets during the first quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images / Kim Klement-Imagn Images

On Thursday morning, Northside Christian School announced the hiring of Marreese Speights as the school's next head boys basketball coach.

Speights, A native of St. Petersburg, Florida is no stranger to the Pinellas County area where he played his high school basketball career at Gibbs High School before moving onto winning a national championship at the University of Florida in 2007 and eventually spending 10 years in the National Basketball Association (NBA) playing for the Philadelphia 76ers, Memphis Grizzlies, Orlando Magic, Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Clippers, and Golden State Warriors.

Speights spent two seasons at the University of Florida where he averaged 9.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game during his career with the Gators.

Speights also won an NBA championship in 2015 with the Golden State Warriors where he is just one of 47 all-time players to win a national title in college as well as an NBA title.

During Speights' 10-year run in the NBA, he averaged 7.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per game while playing in 705 career games. In 60 career postseason games, Speights averaged 5.3 points and 2.5 rebounds per game.

Speights has had previous coaching stops where he was a college assistant at Georgia Southern for the 2023-2024 season before coming back home to Tampa where he served as a player development coach at the University of South Florida this season.

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Ross Van De Griek
ROSS VAN DE GRIEK

Ross Van De Griek has been a high school sports writer covering the state of Florida since 2021. Ross also has been scouting high school basketball and Grassroots Basketball across the Southeast Region since 2022. Ross has been covering basketball and recruiting for High School on SI since August 2024. He has collaborated with Next Up Sports, Prep Hoops, and On The Radar Hoops throughout his scouting career. You can follow him on X @rossvdg14 or reach him via email rossvdg14@gmail.com for story ideas.

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