Speights declines Orlando invite

Florida sophomore center Marreese Speights has declined an invitation to compete in next week's NBA predraft camp in Orlando, his advisor and former AAU coach, Matt Ramker, confirmed Sunday.

"Marreese is just going to focus on getting ready for his (individual) workouts," Ramker said.

Under new NBA rules, teams cannot conduct individual workouts until after the predraft camp is complete. The rule was designed to try to get more draft-eligible prospects to compete in Orlando before the workouts, but it hasn't worked out that way.

Ramker said Speights' current projected draft status didn't play a role in the decision. Some NBA Draft web sites have projected Speights as a mid-to-late first-round pick. An NBA scout, speaking on the condition of anonymity, recently said some NBA executives have projected Speights in the first round as the 12-25th overall pick.

"We're not buying into right now what the Web sites are saying," Ramker said. "We're much more concerned about the feedback we're going to get from the general managers and scouts."

Ramker said Speights has yet to sign with an agent and will meet with Florida coach Billy Donovan a few days before the June 18 deadline to decide whether to return to college. Speights declared in April without an agent after averaging 14.5 points and 8.1 rebounds in his sophomore season as UF's starting center.

Speights has been working out in Las Vegas and Gainesville. Ramker said Speights is down to 240 pounds, with seven-percent body fat.

"He's in excellent shape," Ramker said.