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Amare Stoudemire: The NBA's Resident Beast
By now there isn't much I can write about Amare Stoudemire that would surprise you. We all saw the numbers he posted in the '04-05 regular season and watched in absolute awe of his performance in the Playoffs. In the Suns’ Western Conference Finals loss to the Spurs, Amare averaged a cool 37.0 and 9.8 on Tim Duncan and co before bowing out in 5. The kid (just 22) is an absolute freak of nature, flying onto the NBA superstar radar faster than he can throw down a dunk over Pape Sow. We know this, we recognize this, so what else is there to talk about? Well, a few years ago during Yao-mania, none of us quite knew what to expect out of Stoudemire. Entering the league straight out of Cypress Creek High School, Amare was a mere afterthought compared to Yao and the other seven players taken ahead of him in the '02 Draft. Today, he's positively the best prospect from that crop (including Yao) and if his progression tells us anything so far, it's that he's still got a ways to go. So the question is, what were teams thinking three years ago? Maybe it’s the fact that scouts and GMs were too focussed on jump shooting, “upside”, raw talent, court vision, and all that crap. What they failed to recognize (and continue to do so) is that players’ will to win/compassion for the game can carry them just as far as Jay Bilas’ famous “upside”. Four teams ignored it in ’95 in passing up Kevin Garnett. 12 organizations did it when Kobe Bryant fell to 13 in ’96. And wow we’re starting to see the same with Amare. When all is said in done, I’m afraid those eight GMs will be kicking themselves just as hard as those select few who passed on KG and Kobe.
Take a look at Amare's pre-draft card courtesy of nbadraft.net:
NBA Comparison: Ben Wallace
Strengths: Nasty! Unbelievable physical specimen with intense desire and aggressiveness. Shotblocker/rebounder extraordinaire, takes the ball to the basket with authority and tries to dunk EVERYTHING. Like a man amongst boys on the HS All-Star Camp level, against the cream of the prep crop, to the point where it becomes laughable. Has persevered through tough times living with AAU coaches and friends while his mother was incarcerated.
Weaknesses: Offensive game is still very raw. Because he is able to overpower everyone he faces, developing any perimeter game has been pointless. His handle and jumpshot must improve. Developing better moves around the basket.
Three years later, can we say much, if anything has changed in Stoudemire’s game? Reading that profile, I can see why teams strayed away from him. A 6-9 PF with a relatively weak jumper who tries to dunk “EVERYTHING”. Players like that usually don’t pan out well, just as Chris Wilcox, who just happens to be the guy the Clippers nabbed right before PHX took Amare. But nowhere on this player profile does it discuss his competitive nature. Maybe the writers shied away because it’s such a hard characteristic to judge. We hear it all the time from analysts and coaches about how “this guy has such competitive fire, it’s incredible”. Really? Well I’d expect every player at the pro level to play competitively on a nightly basis. Those who do not should take their rightful spot on the bench next to the assistant trainer. But what I see in Amare is a passion that enables him to carry his game to new levels. Players like Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki are great basketball players and usually perform at spectacular levels. But they don’t have what Amare does, that spark, that gift that will and already has allowed him to get better every time he sets foot on a basketball court. Grant Hill had it at Duke and early on with Detroit. Of course MJ had it, as did Larry and Magic. Those who display this edge now: Iverson, Shaq, Kobe, and the very best example, Garnett. These guys just have that will to win, the fire that makes them and their teammates better, every night and ultimately, every season. I saw it in Amare for the first time this past June. It didn’t matter to him that his Suns were getting hammered by the eventual champs. Just like he didn’t let his mother’s incarceration slow him down. Just like on Draft 2002 when he sat in the Green Room for eight picks until David Stern called his name. Nothing gets to this kid because his heart, his fire, and his competitive nature won’t let it. That’s what creates superstars in this league and I don’t think I’m alone in predicting that Amare Stoudemire will be (if he’s not already) the NBA’s next superstar. This season we get to see yet another step in that progression towards stardom and perhaps one that will get his Suns to the Finals. If not, don’t expect it to get him down. Nothing has so far.
nbasource.blogspot.com
Amare Stoudemire: The NBA's Resident Beast
By now there isn't much I can write about Amare Stoudemire that would surprise you. We all saw the numbers he posted in the '04-05 regular season and watched in absolute awe of his performance in the Playoffs. In the Suns’ Western Conference Finals loss to the Spurs, Amare averaged a cool 37.0 and 9.8 on Tim Duncan and co before bowing out in 5. The kid (just 22) is an absolute freak of nature, flying onto the NBA superstar radar faster than he can throw down a dunk over Pape Sow. We know this, we recognize this, so what else is there to talk about? Well, a few years ago during Yao-mania, none of us quite knew what to expect out of Stoudemire. Entering the league straight out of Cypress Creek High School, Amare was a mere afterthought compared to Yao and the other seven players taken ahead of him in the '02 Draft. Today, he's positively the best prospect from that crop (including Yao) and if his progression tells us anything so far, it's that he's still got a ways to go. So the question is, what were teams thinking three years ago? Maybe it’s the fact that scouts and GMs were too focussed on jump shooting, “upside”, raw talent, court vision, and all that crap. What they failed to recognize (and continue to do so) is that players’ will to win/compassion for the game can carry them just as far as Jay Bilas’ famous “upside”. Four teams ignored it in ’95 in passing up Kevin Garnett. 12 organizations did it when Kobe Bryant fell to 13 in ’96. And wow we’re starting to see the same with Amare. When all is said in done, I’m afraid those eight GMs will be kicking themselves just as hard as those select few who passed on KG and Kobe.
Take a look at Amare's pre-draft card courtesy of nbadraft.net:
NBA Comparison: Ben Wallace
Strengths: Nasty! Unbelievable physical specimen with intense desire and aggressiveness. Shotblocker/rebounder extraordinaire, takes the ball to the basket with authority and tries to dunk EVERYTHING. Like a man amongst boys on the HS All-Star Camp level, against the cream of the prep crop, to the point where it becomes laughable. Has persevered through tough times living with AAU coaches and friends while his mother was incarcerated.
Weaknesses: Offensive game is still very raw. Because he is able to overpower everyone he faces, developing any perimeter game has been pointless. His handle and jumpshot must improve. Developing better moves around the basket.
Three years later, can we say much, if anything has changed in Stoudemire’s game? Reading that profile, I can see why teams strayed away from him. A 6-9 PF with a relatively weak jumper who tries to dunk “EVERYTHING”. Players like that usually don’t pan out well, just as Chris Wilcox, who just happens to be the guy the Clippers nabbed right before PHX took Amare. But nowhere on this player profile does it discuss his competitive nature. Maybe the writers shied away because it’s such a hard characteristic to judge. We hear it all the time from analysts and coaches about how “this guy has such competitive fire, it’s incredible”. Really? Well I’d expect every player at the pro level to play competitively on a nightly basis. Those who do not should take their rightful spot on the bench next to the assistant trainer. But what I see in Amare is a passion that enables him to carry his game to new levels. Players like Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki are great basketball players and usually perform at spectacular levels. But they don’t have what Amare does, that spark, that gift that will and already has allowed him to get better every time he sets foot on a basketball court. Grant Hill had it at Duke and early on with Detroit. Of course MJ had it, as did Larry and Magic. Those who display this edge now: Iverson, Shaq, Kobe, and the very best example, Garnett. These guys just have that will to win, the fire that makes them and their teammates better, every night and ultimately, every season. I saw it in Amare for the first time this past June. It didn’t matter to him that his Suns were getting hammered by the eventual champs. Just like he didn’t let his mother’s incarceration slow him down. Just like on Draft 2002 when he sat in the Green Room for eight picks until David Stern called his name. Nothing gets to this kid because his heart, his fire, and his competitive nature won’t let it. That’s what creates superstars in this league and I don’t think I’m alone in predicting that Amare Stoudemire will be (if he’s not already) the NBA’s next superstar. This season we get to see yet another step in that progression towards stardom and perhaps one that will get his Suns to the Finals. If not, don’t expect it to get him down. Nothing has so far.
