By Patrick Hayes

When you ask any of the star players from the 1990s and early 2000s who had college and pro success coming out of Flint who was the best they played against growing up, invariably you get one of two answers, depending on their age: Jody Allen or Cory Hightower.

As was reported earlier this week, Allen was murdered on his front porch and a charity game was quickly put together in order to both honor the Flint Northwestern legend and help pay for his funeral costs. Eric Woodyard of the Flint Journal covered the game and Hightower was one of the participants. Here’s what Hightower had to say about Allen:

“He was a fighter,” said Cory Hightower, a high school teammate of Allen’s who was selected by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2000 NBA Draft. “He was born and raised on the tough streets and ultimately that’s probably what took his life.”

…

Hightower was honored to pay homage to Allen with his appearance.

“He was one of the most dominant point guards that I’ve ever played with and just one of the greatest,” said Hightower. “That was my boy and I was just hoping a lot of people came out. I know for a fact that if he would’ve got in the league or got a chance to get out of here and play that he would have made a big impact.”

The Flint Journal also has a great gallery of photos from the event.