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Amar'e Stoudemire comes from a small city in Florida that used to be called Lake Wailes, but founders worried that the name made residents sound melancholy, as if they were wailing all the time. So they changed it to Lake Wales, in hopes of a joyful populace. Stoudemire beams when he talks about his hometown -- the elementary school where he made the honor roll and the church where he sat in the front row, the streets where he popped wheelies on his BMX and the sprawling waterfront homes where he mowed lawns with his dad.

But Lake Wales has also been the site of much anguish for Stoudemire. He was 12 when his father, Hazell Sr., died of a heart attack. His mother, Carrie, was in and out of jail. So was his older brother, Hazell Jr. Without their guidance, Stoudemire went to six high schools, including one in an office basement. He helped raise his younger...

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