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Junkie
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Stoudemire wins Rookie of the Year award
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PHOENIX (AP) -- Amare Stoudemire won the NBA Rookie of the Year award Thursday, the first player to do so after coming to the league directly from high school.
The Phoenix Suns forward -- quick, powerful and barely out of his teens -- beat out Houston Rockets center Yao Ming, last year's No. 1 draft pick.
Stoudemire received 458 points, including 59 of a possible 117 first-place votes, in balloting by sports writers and broadcasters. Yao finished with 405 points. Caron Butler of Miami was third with 179. The players received five points for a first-place votes, three for second and one for third.
"From the adjustments that I made growing up, and now here in the NBA having a pretty good season and getting the rookie of the year award, it feels great,'' Stoudemire said. "I feel like I stayed focused, and I've been blessed from God.''
With his mother and teammates Stephon Marbury and Shawn Marion looking on, Stoudemire was presented with the trophy by Suns owner Jerry Colangelo at the packed Hard Rock Cafe in downtown Phoenix on Thursday afternoon.
"It's been a great accomplishment for me,'' Stoudemire said. ``I give all the respect to my teammates. Without them, it wouldn't be possible.''
Stoudemire is only the third rookie of the year since 1965 to have been chosen after the seventh pick in the draft. New York's Mark Jackson, the 1988 winner, was the 18th pick. Jamaal Wilkes of Golden State, who won in 1975, was the 11th selection in the draft.
He's the third Suns player to win the award, but the first since Walter Davis in 1978. Phoenix's Alvan Adams won in 1976.
Stoudemire, who turned 20 two weeks into the season, averaged 13.5 points and 8.8 rebounds, better rookie statistics than any player to turn pro out of high school since Moses Malone.
Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and Tracy McGrady all had less impact in their rookie seasons than did Stoudemire. At 6-foot-10 and 245 pounds, he gave the Suns an inside presence crucial to their surprising drive to the playoffs.
Stoudemire was 12 when his father died. His mother was in and out of jail throughout his childhood. His older brother is in prison on drug and sex abuse convictions.
Somehow, Stoudemire stayed out of trouble. He went to six high schools, the last of them Cypress Creek High School in Orlando, and he had to sit out his junior season because of transfer rules.
Concern over his background may have been the reason he was still available when Phoenix made its pick. At the time, Suns owner Jerry Colangelo confidently predicted that Stoudemire could be the best player the team ever drafted.
Colangelo and his son, Suns president Bryan Colangelo, knew after meeting Stoudemire and seeing him work out that he was the player they wanted.
"He had a great look in his eyes,'' Jerry Colangelo said, ``and physically he went out there and kind of showed that he was a man among young guys. He was physically way ahead of his age.
"I turned to some of our people and said there's only one guy I've ever seen come through here that moved me as much as he did, and that was Kobe Bryant.''
Stoudemire didn't begin playing basketball until he was 14, and he had no serious coaching until he came to the Suns.
"Amare was like a sponge,'' Colangelo said. "Whatever was being taught, he was able to pick up quickly. I think his work ethic sets him apart, too. It's not so much his God-given athletic ability, but he wants to be the best.''
He began the season as a reserve but moved into the starting lineup when Tom Gugliotta went down with a foot injury after 11 games. Confident and usually poised far beyond his years, Stoudemire showed no sign of being intimidated by his big, rough, older opponents. His favorite player in high school was Shaquille O'Neal.
Stoudemire scored 38 points and grabbed 14 rebounds at Minnesota on Dec. 30. If he ever had any self-doubts, they ended that night.
"I think I had a good feeling for the game,'' he said, "and I was feeling very comfortable after that.''
Against Memphis on Jan. 10, he grabbed 21 rebounds, a Phoenix rookie record and the most by a Suns player since Charles Barkley's 26 against Houston in 1996.
Stoudemire scored 24 points in his playoff debut against San Antonio last week, including an improbable bank-shot 3-pointer that sent the game into overtime.
Colangelo said Stoudemire needs to work on staying out of foul trouble and hitting his mid-range jumper.
"His 3-point jumper looks pretty good,'' he joked.
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Article can be found HERE.
What are your thoughts/feelings about this? Does he deserve it, or would you rather have seen someone else get the award? |