That's Amare

LAS VEGAS, Aug. 29 -- Amare Stoudemire immediately got out of his seat after Carmelo Anthony took a hard foul against Puerto Rico on Tuesday night during the FIBA Americas Championship.

Puerto Rico was assessed a technical foul and U.S. assistant coach Jim Boeheim and head athletic trainer Keith Jones rushed down the bench to warn the players not to go onto the court.

"I ain't going nowhere," said Stoudemire, the Phoenix Suns' all-star center.

Stoudemire's suspension for Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals against the San Antonio Spurs -- after he left the bench when Steve Nash got a forearm shiver from Robert Horry near the end of Game 4 -- potentially cost the Suns an NBA championship in June. So he knew not to leave the bench even if he didn't know FIBA Rule Six, Article 39.2.2, which states, "Substitutes or team followers who leave the bench area during a fight, or during any situation which may lead to a fight, shall be disqualified."

His teammates burst into laughter and U.S. assistant coach Mike D'Antoni -- also Stoudemire's coach with the Suns -- smiled as he stared at Stoudemire. "I'm going to go have a seat here," Stoudemire told D'Antoni.

"You hope he learned something last year," D'Antoni said with a laugh on Wednesday. "It was like a nightmare."

Stoudemire scored 12 points with a game-high eight rebounds in the United States' 117-78 victory over Puerto Rico. But he raised several eyebrows in the second period when he stepped back and knocked down a three-pointer from the left corner. "I practice that shot a lot," Stoudemire said. "You guys might not get to see it often, but it is a shot that I feel comfortable shooting."

"When he shot it, Mike [D'Antoni] was saying that he is going to be shooting that shot a lot more for Phoenix next season," U.S. Coach Mike Krzyzewski said, before pausing to laugh. "I'm not sure he said that. That's what I heard."

D'Antoni chuckled on the bench after Stoudemire's lone three-pointer of the tournament, but said he'd have no problem with his 6-foot-10 big man stepping outside the arc in the regular season.

"You see his form and rotation, there is no reason he can't be a good three-point shooter. We don't want him to fall in love with it," D'Antoni said, "but he's really expanding his game. He's looking for ways to get better, not only offensively -- where he's one of the top two or three in the game -- but he's trying to get better defensively and figure out what it takes to be an MVP. He's demonstrating that every day in practice here."

Krzyzewski praised Stoudemire for slapping a shot off the rim in the second quarter against Puerto Rico. The move would be called goaltending in the NBA, but is allowed under FIBA rules. "I thought Amare's play, he's been so active and has been playing so well -- it's been a huge plus for us," Krzyzewski said.

Stoudemire is taking his second turn with USA Basketball after being a member of the 2004 Olympic team. He participated in training camp for the world championships last summer, but he was only nine months removed from microfracture surgery on his left knee and two months removed from another surgery on his right knee and didn't join the team in Asia.

"I was close to making it, but I used it as rehabilitation, working out against all-stars. Now I'm back here, feeling great," said Stoudemire, who averaged 12.7 points and 4.8 rebounds in the first six games as one of Krzyzewski's seven "starters."

Stoudemire started preparing for this Olympic qualifying tournament on June 1. The results are evident in his noticeably sleeker frame, which he credits to removing red meat from his diet, lifting weights and Pilates. Stoudemire has also picked up soccer for the first time in his life, following the lead of Suns teammates and futbol fanatics Nash and Leandro Barbosa. "I'm picking up the skill pretty good," he said. "I go out there and kick it around. It's good cardio."

Stoudemire, who is taking history courses at Arizona State in the offseason, was mentioned in several proposed trades that could have brought Kevin Garnett to Phoenix. In the end, the Suns refused to part with Stoudemire and Garnett wound up in Boston.

"There was a lot of stuff being said that was not even true, but a lot of it is business, also," D'Antoni said. "People listen, people talk and every once in a while something will happen. He's our guy. He knows it. He knows how valuable he is to our franchise. He's not going to let anything derail him from being the best player in the game."

Stoudemire said he hasn't spent his summer worried much about those trade rumors. And, before a hilarious reminder on Tuesday, Stoudemire said he certainly isn't thinking about his costly suspension. "Not at all," Stoudemire said. "It was a reaction that I could never change. With me not knowing the rule, it was liable to happen. It's nothing that worries me, or [that I] lose sleep over. It's something that happened and we'll be back next year."