Polk State Hires NBA Champion Marreese Speights as Head Basketball Coach

Polk State College in Winter Haven, Florida, has appointed former NBA and NCAA champion Marreese Speights as its new head men's basketball coach. Speights, a St. Petersburg native and University of Florida alumnus, is scheduled to officially begin his tenure on June 1. During his professional career, Speights played for several teams, including the Philadelphia 76ers, Memphis Grizzlies, and Golden State Warriors, with whom he won an NBA championship in 2015. He also contributed to Florida's back-to-back NCAA titles in 2006 and 2007. The hiring aims to revitalize a program that has recorded only one winning season in the last four years. Polk State Athletic Director Randy Lee praised Speights' proven track record of developing athletes for higher levels of competition. Speights expressed enthusiasm about returning to the area where he previously coached a postgraduate team to a championship in 2023, emphasizing his intent to bring grit and toughness to the Polk State roster. This appointment marks a significant development for the college's athletics department, leveraging Speights' extensive experience as both a focal point and role player in elite basketball competitions.