76ers' Speights gets a Florida treat

ORLANDO - 76ers fans have enjoyed watching Marreese Speights play in person - his eyes-at-the-rim dunks, his easy midrange jumper, his youthful enthusiasm.

But until a charity game last week in Lake City, Fla., one important man had not seen Speights play in person. Not in the NBA, not at the University of Florida, not ever.

His father, Wilbur Speights, was that man.

In 2001, the elder Speights, who had been in and out of prison beforehand, was convicted on charges of grand theft, petit theft, attempted robbery with a gun, and possession of cocaine, according to the Gainesville Sun.

He was sentenced to 15 years in a Florida prison but was paroled early, on June 11.

"It just gave me motivation to go after my dreams," Speights said of his father's conviction. "Whenever I went about anything, I said, 'I can't wait for my dad to get out,' but my mom, my brother, and my sister took me and helped me out."

Last night, a few minutes after a combined team of Sixers and New Jersey Nets lost, 83-68, to the Utah Jazz in the Orlando Pro Summer League, the Sixers forward said it was fun to finally have his father in the stands, even if it was a small-town charity game.

Speights, who scored eight points last night, said he expects his father to be at the Sixers' first game this season and to be in Philadelphia for at least a few more.

Last season as a rookie, Speights averaged 7.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 16.0 minutes per game. After two games of the summer league, which runs through Friday, Speights is averaging 18.0 points a game.

"I'm going to make sure he doesn't go back" to prison, Speights said of his father.

Top picks collide. Utah started first-round pick Eric Maynor at point guard and the Sixers/Nets started Jrue Holiday, the Sixers' first-round selection.

Maynor (the 20th overall pick) guarded Holiday (No. 17) for a decent chunk of the game and finished with 12 points on 2-for-9 shooting from the floor, five rebounds, four assists, two turnovers, and a steal. He was 7 for 7 from the free-throw line.

Holiday finished 2 for 6 with seven points, four rebounds, three assists, and two turnovers.

Double duty. Dionte Christmas, the former Temple guard who is playing for the Sixers in the summer league, will play for the Los Angeles Clippers in a summer league in Las Vegas starting Friday.

Christmas was projected as a second-round pick but went undrafted.

Immediately after the draft, Sixers general manager Ed Stefanski called Christmas to invite him to play summer ball in Orlando.

"Without Stefanski giving me that call, I don't know where my confidence would be," said Christmas, who scored seven points on 3-of-8 shooting last night.

Local ties. Lower Gwynedd's Rob Kurz is playing on the Sixers/Nets combined team in this league and will play for the Minnesota Timberwolves in Las Vegas. Kurz, who spent two years at Germantown Academy and two at Penn Charter, went undrafted out of Notre Dame but appeared in 40 games for the Golden State Warriors last season.

"It's kind of part of the NBA experience, especially as a young player, to step up when you're asked," said Kurz, who played 12 minutes, 42 seconds last night and scored one point.