Sure thing: teams weren't lining up to take a gamble on Amare Stoudemire three years ago. Now, the only bet is on just how good the Suns' big man is going to be

They liked calling Amare Stoudemire a man-child--draft observers, reporters, general managers, scouts, even former Suns point guard Stephon Marbury. It seemed to fit. Man because, in the weeks before the 2002 draft, Stoudemire was already physically developed, standing 6-10 and weighing 245 pounds, the same height and weight at which is he listed now. Child because Stoudemire was 19 and and woefully inexperienced. He had played just two years of high school basketball and had trouble with such basics as pick-and-rolls and dribbling with his left hand. But those who called Stoudemire a man-child were only half right. He never really has been a child.

Stoudemire certainly was a man, though, on a Wednesday morning in May, five weeks before the '02 draft, when he showed up for a workout at the Suns' facility in Phoenix. It took about 20 minutes for Stoudemire to make the hair on the necks of the Suns' brass rise, with an explosive move to the hoop capped off with a WMD dunk. General manager Bryan Colangelo says it was "perhaps the best dunk ever seen in our building." Minutes later, Stoudemire caught forward Lee Benson, a 28-year-old draft hopeful who had spent eight years in prison, on the chin with an elbow. The force of the blow knocked out Benson's gold tooth, sending it sliding across the court.

Twenty minutes, one thunder-dunk and some wayward dentistry was all it took for Suns owner Jerry Colangelo to acknowledge to the other team executives, "This is our guy." Assistant general manager Mark West remembers someone at the workout wondering about the gamble of drafting someone so young. Jerry Colangelo said, "This guy is no gamble."

That nongamble is paying off big in Phoenix, where Stoudemire has become the league's best young big man, despite playing out of position at center (he's a natural power forward). Stoudemire is a rare combination of pure power, smarts and offensive skill. Now in his third season, he has gotten better in just about every aspect of his game, and he will be making his first All-Star appearance. He is fifth in the NBA in scoring, at 26.1 points per game, and is shooting 57.5 percent, second in the league. He has become, as Spurs forward Malik Rose says, "just about unguardable. He's a can't-miss guy, the things he does."

But back in 2002, Stoudemire's can't-miss status was shaky. The Suns were just about alone in seeing Stoudemire as a gamble worth taking. He had shuffled through an array of high schools, including two failed stints in North Carolina, first at Mount Zion Christian Academy and then briefly at Emmanuel Christian--which, as an HBO segment on Stoudemire revealed, turned out to be only one classroom of students, made up entirely of the basketball team. Stoudemire also shuffled through guardians because his mother and older brother were in jail. He had been academically ineligible his junior year and had led his team to a measly 16-13 record as a senior.

A source with the Warriors, who picked third that year, says there was sentiment within that organization to take a chance on Stoudemire because his talent was overwhelming. But the team passed because of his background. The same thing happened in Memphis, which picked fourth. And in Denver, which held picks Nos. 5 and 7. In all, seven teams passed on Stoudemire before the Suns grabbed him ninth.

Stoudemire smiles when remembering his draft day. "I wish I could have been a higher pick," he says. "Everyone would like to go as high as he can. But I know people were saying things about me that must have pushed me down. That's OK. Phoenix was a perfect situation for me."

The Suns were aware of Stoudemire's past and had access to the same information as every other team. But there was nothing in Stoudemire's behavior that raised a red flag--perhaps those around him had courted trouble, but he had steadfastly avoided it. "He talked about learning from and growing stronger from a troubled past, and he never wavered from his statements about wanting to become one of the great players to play the game," Bryan Colangelo says. "Suffice it to say that with all the background research and due diligence performed, nothing about Amare left a doubt in our minds. We were ecstatic that he lasted to nine."

Now, the Suns are ecstatic to watch how quickly Stoudemire, now just 22, is making good on his potential. His performance in the first half of the season was dominant, and his presence is a key to the quick turnaround the Suns have made from a 29-53 season a year ago--Stoudemire missed two months last season because of an ankle injury--to this year's 39-12 mark. The addition of veteran point guard Steve Nash has had an obvious impact on Stoudemire and the other young Suns, but the individual improvement Stoudemire has demonstrated is equally obvious.

"I am sure it has helped to have Steve Nash there," says Bucks coach Terry Porter. "But he has added a shot from the perimeter and has been more patient. He is still aggressive, but he knows when to use it. Last year he was so righthanded dominant, you could play him to his right hand and you did not have to worry about the left. But now, he has obviously worked on his ballhandling. He will go left on you. If he keeps improving, at his age, who knows how good he can be?"