Grayson Boucher

Grayson Boucher
Personal information
Nickname(s) The Professor
Nationality United States American
Born (1984-06-10) June 10, 1984
Keizer, Oregon, United States
Residence Los Angeles, California
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight 155 lb (70 kg)
Website TheProfessorLive.com
Sport
Sport Basketball
Event(s) Streetball
College team Chemeketa Community College
Team Ball Up Tour (2011-present)
AND1 Mixtape Tour (2003–2011)
Salem Stampede (2006)
Atlanta Krunk (2007)
Turned pro 2003

Grayson "The Professor" Boucher (born June 10, 1984) is an American streetball player and actor. He is most known for playing on the highly stylized, international AND1 Mixtape Tour; he has also appeared in several movies, most notably Ball Don't Lie. Boucher is 5'10" and weighs 155 pounds (1.78 m, 70 kg).

Boucher attended McNary High School and was a standout athlete despite not playing varsity. His varsity coach considered him too small to play because he was only 5 feet tall and 85 pounds. This spurred Boucher to transfer to nearby Salem Academy high school for his senior year. Boucher made all state honors his senior year at Salem Academy. Boucher was given no college offers in high school. After high school, Boucher attended Chemeketa Community College. Boucher walked on to the basketball team at Chemeketa Community College and got very little playing time.[1]

AND1 Mixtape Tour

When the AND1 Mixtape Tour stopped in Portland, Oregon, Boucher and his brother attended, as fans. But Boucher found out there was an "open run" tryout to join the tour, and earned a spot on the team.[2] By summer 2004, Boucher was featured prominently in the Tour's marketing, appearing on the main page of their web site and in various advertisements.[3] He has played in over 30 countries and has been featured in 7 seasons of “Streetball” on ESPN, 5 AND1 Mixtape DVD’s, 4 AND1 Commercials and an And1 Video Game. Boucher trains and plays every day, including during times when on tour.[4]

Ball Up Tour

After leaving AND1 in January 2011, Boucher played streetball for Ball Up. Boucher became acquainted with Ball Up's CEO, Demetrius Spencer, in late 2008. The Ball Up Tour features most of the players from the AND1 Mixtape Tour and focuses more on the on-the-court action, a departure from the AND1 tour, which featured more behind-the-scenes footage. The international tour stopped in over 10 countries along with plans for a winter tour in the U.S.[5]

Acting career

Boucher has used his status to appear in several films portraying basketball players like himself. He has appeared in the film Semi-Pro, starring Will Ferrell, as a point guard on the opposing squad in the final game of the movie and was featured in the special features section of the DVD version as well. Boucher played the lead role of Sticky in the film Ball Don't Lie, based on the book of the same name. The film was completed and shown nationally at several film festivals but was never officially released.

Boucher also took on the role of Spider-Man in a YouTube web-series he created. In the series, Boucher disguised himself as the well known superhero and went to various basketball courts in the Los Angeles area to play against unsuspecting competition. The first episode garnered noticeable attention reaching 14 million views on YouTube within a week of being uploaded. It was featured on the ESPN website, and gained further attention from Shaquille O'Neal, who tweeted the video to his followers. The third episode featured NBA star Jamal Crawford, and further plans were made to feature other known basketball players. The fourth episode[6] of the Spider-Man Youtube series featured another street basketball player, Larry Williams,[7] who disguised himself as the popular Marvel Comics superhero, Captain America. The sixth installment[8] featured a basketball player disguised as Deadpool. The seventh part[9] of the Spider-Man series has a disguised Boucher facing off against another basketball player, disguised as Carnage.

Boucher also launched a ball handling guide called Super-Human Dribbling, a web-based tutorial available for download online, that features Boucher's drills and workouts.[10]

Boucher now has his own Youtube channel where he posts mixtapes of him playing in local basketball leagues, fun and comical videos, tutorials, and other entertaining basketball videos.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2003–2008 Streetball: The AND1 Mixtape Tour Himself TV series
2008 Semi-Pro Spirits Player #31 / Spurs Player #22 Uncredited
2010 Phenom TBA Pre-production
2011 Ball Don't Lie Sticky Lead role; theatrical release date: TBA 2011

Personal life

Boucher is a devout Christian having experienced a dramatic change in his faith with the passing of his teammate Troy "Escalade" Jackson. Jackson and Boucher were very close during their time with the AND1 Mixtape tour. Jackson took him "under his wing" and was a devout Christian himself.

References

  1. ↑ "B/R Sits Down with 'The Professor'". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  2. ↑ Jordan, Jason (August 24, 2010). "The Professor schools on nicknames". ESPN RISE.
  3. ↑ Richardson, Shandel (August 15, 2004). "'THE PROFESSOR' CHANGES THE FACE OF STREETBALL; GRAYSON BOUCHER, A 5-FOOT-10, 140-POUND WHITE GUY, SHINES AS THE SPORT'S NEW STAR.". The Orlando Sentinel.
  4. ↑ "BIO". The Professor Live Official Website. 2011.
  5. ↑ Day, James (May 16, 2011). "New opportunity for 'The Professor' means school is back in session". Statesman Journal.
  6. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUyXalMwcr4, retrieved 2015-11-11 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ↑ "The Official Site of the Street Basketball Association: SBA All Star Team". www.streetbasketballassociation.net. Retrieved 2015-11-11.
  8. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMN2Bs_Cr1A, retrieved 2015-11-11 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnlL2e0RclQ, retrieved 2015-11-11 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. ↑ "World's Best Ball Handler, The Professor, Releases His Exclusive Basketball Workout to the Public". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
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