Tony Allen’s story, shared on the Out The Mud podcast, is an intense, raw reflection on the challenges he faced growing up in Chicago’s rough streets. From an early age, he witnessed firsthand the risks and temptations of life in the ghetto, as well as the harsh reality of violence. His recollections provide a glimpse into how dangerous his surroundings were and the ways he navigated them to eventually find an escape through basketball.
(Cleaned up for better understanding)
“When I was in second grade, I could tell you what’s six and eight, nine and five. Shit, by the time I was in fourth grade, shit, the OGs were telling us, every 10 bags you sell, you get $30. You know what I’m saying? And from that, you know, it went from, you know, just picking your route.”
“And like I said, man, there were routes that, you know, I wasn’t brave enough to take coming up. I got homies who actually took those routes, man, you know, going back home with eight, nine hundred dollars, waking back up doing the same thing. You know what I’m saying? Ten, eleven years old, counting the bankroll. And it was like, damn, this the life I got? You know what I’m saying?”
“And it wasn’t too far from anybody else’s, but it was like, it hit me early, man. Like I said, seeing one of my OGs get shot nine times, right in my face, you know what I’m saying? Seeing another one of my partners get shot in my face, get paralyzed. See what I’m saying? Like, just the environment I’m growing in, it’s like, man, these are the decisions I gotta make.”
“Do I wanna be a product of my environment and let the hood take me under? You know what I’m saying? My mama always told me, like, man, you keep hanging with them boys, you gonna be just like them boys. You gonna go to jail with them boys. And you know what I’m saying?”
“It didn’t really hit me until I started seeing it. Started seeing my homies get time. Started seeing homies go away from the hood five, six, seven years for getting caught with, you know, delivery, serving undercover police. And you know what I’m saying? I started seeing it.”
“But one thing I can say about my neighborhood, man, rest in peace my homie, Avery Banks, man. He used to always tell me, he used to be like, man, you got game. Like, you got game, man. You might need to start fixing your crowd, man. What you doing right now, it’s a little far ahead of what they got going, man.”
“I ain’t never see it, you know, I love my partner. Ain’t nobody will believe they partner. You get what I’m saying? Y’all going to skating rinks together. Y’all fighting. Y’all mobbing pretty much, man.”
“And it’s just, I didn’t really notice how good I was, man, until like, like I said, until I dropped out of high school, man, and ended up running into my partner, Will Bynum, man. And it’s funny because I told the story in my documentary. I had just got shot at or whatever, you know what I’m saying? I’m out in the low end, you know what I’m saying? Running around with Don Dirk, you know what I’m saying?”
“Yeah, all the guys. I run around with the guys, man, and I had just got through doing my thing on the one-twos, like as far as hustling, and some guys came through shooting. And as I’m making, trying to serve or whatever, I’m hearing bullets come past my head. Real close, kid. I’m talking about, I’m hearing them. Like 4K, I’m hearing it. I’m talking about, it spooked me so hard.”
“My homie, Jerald, came out the back. He let off a few of them, you know, hit back, and one of the shorties who was shooting at us got hit.”
“So now I’m sitting on the porch, in the front of the porch. I was like, I ain’t finished sitting in the back of the, you know, of the building, trying to hustle. I’m sitting in the front. And so as I sit in the front, man, I’m just like, damn, looking at my life ahead of me, like, damn, what’s next.”
“Just so happened, man, about 30 GDs walk up in front of me. ‘Hey man, y’all just shot one of the guys, man.’ I’m talking about, bro, I’m literally looking like, like, hold on, Joe. Like, you know what I’m saying? Like, be cool. I’m talking about shaking, you hear me? Shaking.”
“Walked back in, told my homie, ‘Man, you know, hey man, it’s some guys out there, man. Some of the guys out there, talking about you just hit one of their guys.’ Man, I can’t even lie, man. I’m talking about heart beating, heart really beating, my life was in front of me, two ways, you see what I’m saying?”
“And I’m talking about that specific day, man, I remember it vividly. Got in a cab, shot past, going back to my grandma’s house, man, and I saw the IIT Pro-Am. I saw a lot of cars out there and shit. I jumped out the car, went up in there, man, ended up running into my boy Jason Straight. He went to Wyoming. He one of the guys too.”
“He told me, ‘Man, what you been up to? What you been up to?’ I was kind of embarrassed. I told him I dropped out of high school, bro. I was embarrassed, you know what I’m saying? And I had a fresh pair of Jays on, bankroll, and he said, ‘You still hoop?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I still hoop.'”
“And he let me play on his team, so we ended up playing or whatever. I think we played against Shawn Marion, and I’m talking about I did my thing, killer. I’m talking about hitting like a good 18-19, serving them folks. And guess who was in the stands? Will Bynum.”
“Will Bynum ran up on me like, ‘Man, you know he hasn’t seen me since bitty school.’ He’s like, ‘Man, Joe, what you’ve been doing, bro?’ I was embarrassed to tell him, ‘Man, I dropped out of school, Rody.’ He was like, ‘Man, fuck all that. I’ll get you back in school, bro. I’m at a school out West now. I just took them from the lowest division to the top division. I’ll get you in school.’ And he followed through on his offer.”
“Just so happened, my mama had moved though. You know what I’m saying? She moved me from off 95th, to the West Side. She said, ‘Hey look, you wanna be on 95th and do all this? Stay over there with them. You wanna act like you some hoodlum? Stay over there.'”
“She moved without telling me, bro. I came back home, trying to go back on 95th, and all the guys were like, ‘Man, your mama moved.’ I said, ‘What?’ So I called my grandma, ‘Where did my mama move?’ She said, ‘I ain’t supposed to tell you that, baby. She moved to the West Side,’ and gave me the address.”
“But I was going off the strength, like, man, I’m done with this street life, because Will just said he could get me into hooping. And I just played against Shawn Marion and had 18-19 points. So, Will Bynum kept his word. I ain’t gonna lie, man.”
“I get to the school, man, hands down, I had about 0.5 credits as a junior, literally dropped out, never went to school. They did what they had to do to get me into school. I had to go to night school, morning school. School started at eight, but I had to be there at seven in the morning. I played for the football team. They had me doing everything I needed to do to get those credits up.”
“So, big flowers to Will Bynum for even, you know what I’m saying, showing me that, ‘Hey, look, bro, you might need to pick up on this basketball, man, because you got talent.’ From that point on, I took basketball seriously.” (5:00)
This transformative period in Tony Allen’s life marked his departure from the dangerous life he’d known, showing him the possibilities that existed outside the streets. Reflecting on his journey, he expressed gratitude for the people who saw potential in him and believed he could do something more with his talent. His story is not just a testament to his resilience but also an inspiring example of how guidance and opportunity can help someone escape a seemingly inescapable situation.
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