Stranger buys boy a basketball hoop after seeing him shooting hoops into a trash can

By Shannon McLellan

When it comes to random acts of kindness, this one is a slam dunk.

Devin Hinkston, 30, was driving through the town of Alexandria, Louisiana, when he spotted a young boy playing basketball in his driveway. When he got closer, he realized the boy was using a trash can as a basketball hoop.

Hinkston decided to change that.

Charminique Love

8-year-old Jeremiah plays on a basketball team at his local church.

“I always do [random acts of kindness]," Hinkston said. "I’ll see kids in the corner store and I’ll buy all of them something to snack on. I’ll see a homeless person and buy them a bomber jacket or some food. I just never post about it on social media because that’s not the reason I’m doing it. I do it from the heart.”

When Hinkston pulled up to the house with a basketball hoop, he was greeted by Patricia Williams and her 8-year-old grandson Jeremiah.

He told Williams he drove by and saw a little boy throwing his ball into the trash can and he wanted to give him a gift.

Williams said Jeremiah loves basketball and plays in a league at their local church. His favorite player is LeBron James.

“Everywhere he goes he totes his little basketball,” Williams said.

“This man was a complete stranger,” Williams said. “I just started crying because it was an angel in disguise.”

Hinkston said he got emotional too.

“Jeremiah was in the background jumping for joy and she was jumping and I was dropping tears,” Hinkston said. “It was special.”

Patricia Williams

He totes his little basketball everywhere," Grandmother Patricia Williams says about grandson Jeremiah.

Jeremiah had a basketball game later that day where he scored 12 points and helped lead his team to victory.

Williams took a picture of Jeremiah and Hinkston and posted it to Facebook where it has gotten thousands of views.

HInkston said he has stayed in touch with the family and plans to go back to the house to help them assemble the basketball hoop. His ultimate dream, he said, is to one day fund a nonprofit for the kids in the community so they have activities to do after school.

“You should always be kind. You never know what somebody else is going through,” Hinkston said.