St. Petersburg native Marreese Speights is passionate about basketball, dedicating most of his life to the game. He played part of his high school career at Gibbs and Admiral Farragut before playing collegiately at the University of Florida. The former Gator then enjoyed a 13-year professional career. "This sport changed my life," he said. Speights won the national championship with the Gators in 2007 and the NBA Finals with the Golden State Warriors in 2015, making him one of 47 men to win the NCAA and NBA championships. Now he's embracing a new role on the bench as USF's director of player development. "Just helping them out. Try to be a pro the best way I can and the best way I know," he said. Speights was already a Bulls basketball supporter, having season tickets. So the opportunity to be hands-on with players in his backyard was a no-brainer. "I'm the only one that ever went to the NBA from St. Pete. So to see this younger generation try to get to their goals in the Tampa Bay area is big," he said.