Amar'e Stoudemire made $161 million playing basketball. He just finished police academy at 43 for a job where rookie cops in Miami-Dade start around $58K a year, which is about a quarter of what the Knicks paid him for one game. Once you hear how he grew up, it might be the least surprising career move in sports. His dad died of a heart attack when he was 12. His mom was in and out of prison for petty theft and forgery, and every time her life got turned upside down, his did too. By the time he graduated, he'd bounced between five high schools in two states, six different times. Transcript problems from all that moving cost him most of a freshman season and then a full year of eligibility. He didn't even start playing organized basketball until he was 14. A few of the people who kept him on track weren't family. His AAU coach took him in, a minister helped, and so did a local cop named Burney Hayes, who let him crash at his place sometimes. All the moving left him with two full high school seasons. That was enough for Phoenix to take him 9th overall in 2002, the only high schooler picked in the first round that year, and he beat out Yao Ming for Rookie of the Year. He made six All-Star teams, had microfracture surgery on both knees, signed a $99.7 million deal in New York, and got inducted into the Hall of Fame two months ago. He also owned a piece of a pro team in Jerusalem. Nobody would've said a word if he'd just enjoyed the money. So at 43 he signed up for a 10½-month academy and told SI parts of it were as tough as anything in the NBA. He walked out with an award for what he gave his class. His uncle, cousin and sister were already in law enforcement, and when they asked him on career day what he wanted to be, he said cop. He's joining Miami-Dade Schools Police, the department that actually works the hallways. Some kid in Miami is going to switch schools for the third time this year, and the officer at the door will be a 6'10" Hall of Famer who did it six times.