Allan Guei Shares Love of Basketball — With The Competition

The star athlete from Compton won $40,000 in a free throw contest, and gave it all away to his peers.

By Bryan Gerhart Jul 08, 2011

There’s selfless and then there’s Allan Guei. You might not know him yet, but the 18-year-old Compton High School basketball star is making a name for himself on and off the court. After winning $40,000 for college in a free-throw contest earlier this year, Guei announced at graduation that he’d be giving his prize money to the seven runners-up.

The recent grad received a full scholarship to CSU Northridge, and while NCAA rules would have allowed him to keep as much as 80 percent of the competition earnings — roughly $32,000 —  Guei decided that his peers could use the help more than he could. He told the Los Angeles Times, "They were all smart and wanted to pursue their dreams, but were having financial difficulties. I felt it was the right move to help the others, especially when everything else was taking off for me."

The contest was sponsored by Court Crandall, a local ad executive who wanted to dispel some of the negative stereotypes surrounding the city of Compton. A preview for an upcoming documentary about the competition paints the free throw line as a unifier, unlike the "million other lines that divide us."

So thanks, Allan Guei, for reminding us of the profound power of generosity.

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