(This is the second of a three-part series.)

Florida’s Big Fella faces other problems than mere cash concerns. Even with a seven-figure salary likely in the bag, his problems don’t end there.

With the Gators, Mo plays as a center, plain and simple. At 6-10 and 245 pounds, He’s bigger and thicker than everyone else on the team, and even with Kenny Kadji coming along, Donovan won’t move Speights to power forward and tire both of his bigs too soon.

In the NBA, it gets a little more complicated. On virtually every NBA team, even without a franchise center, there is someone of comparable, if not superior, height and weight to Mo. For example, the Boston Celtics have Kevin Garnett (+ 1 in. , +8 lbs.) and Kendrick Perkins (+35 lbs.), the LA Lakers have Andrew Bynum (+2 in., +30 lbs.) and Pau Gasol (+2 in., +15 lbs.), and the Phoenix Suns boast Amare Stoudemire (comparable height and weight, but more experienced) and Shaquille O’Neal (+3 in., +80 lbs.)

Translation: On an NBA team, Mo will likely split time between power forward and center. At the four, that entails guarding Dirk Nowitski, Tim Duncan, Marcus Camby, and the aforementioned Garnett and Stoudemire night by night, or if he happens to join one of those teams, playing behind them. At the five, he’s vulnurable to being harassed by bigger, stronger guys such as Shaq, Dwight Howard, and worst of all, Yao Ming (Whose size advantage over Speights is equivalent to Speights’ over a 6-2 point guard.)

On the offensive end, he’ll have to learn how to execute plays from two different angles. That may seem trite, but bear in mind, he’ll have to know which of two routes to go on every…single…possession. Guys that can play multiple positions, like LeBron James in the NBA or our own Nick Calathes in college, generally have high basketball IQs that suit this purpose. Speights is a late bloomer compared to most guys, so he’ll have to be a fast, and I mean, a very fast learner.

With that being said, the most notable exception to these NBA principles is, surprise surprise, the Detroit Pistons. The two most notable bigs on the team, Theo Ratliff and Rasheed Wallace, are 10 pounds lighter and +10 years older. The biggest guy on the team, Cheick Samb, hasn’t seen a lot of playing time, clocking approximately 30 minutes over 4 games. Jason Maxiell is undersized for the 5 at 6-7, somewhat like Charles Barkley was.

If Speights declares and Detroit finds him on the board, he could wind up as a draft steal.

If you’re up to the challenge, Mo, be my guest. Until then, take another year and work out your issues. It’ll help you in the long term.