Grayson Boucher

Grayson "The Professor" Scott 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 (177 cm, 70 kg) and his jersey number is 12.

Grayson Boucher
Personal information
Birth nameGrayson Scott Boucher
Nickname(s)The Professor
NationalityAmerican
Born (1984-06-10) June 10, 1984
Keizer, Oregon, United States
Height5 ft 9.8 in (177.3 cm)
Weight155 lb (70 kg)
WebsiteTheProfessorLive.com
Sport
SportBasketball
Event(s)Streetball
College teamChemeketa Community College
TeamBall Up Tour (2011-present)
AND1 Mixtape Tour (2003–2011)
Salem Stampede (2006)
Atlanta Krunk (2007)
Turned pro2003

Boucher attended McNary High School but transferred to nearby Salem Academy where he made all-state honors. He was given no college offers in high school. After high school, Boucher attended Chemeketa Community College, where he played on the basketball team.

AND1 Mixtape Tour

When the AND1 Mixtape Tour stopped in Portland, Oregon, Boucher and his brother attended as fans. Boucher found out there was an "open run" tryout to join the tour, and earned a spot on the team.[1] By the summer of 2004, Boucher was featured prominently in the tour's marketing, appearing on the main page of their website and in various advertisements.[2]

He has played in over 30 countries and has been featured in seven seasons of Streetball on ESPN, five AND1 mixtape DVDs, four AND1 commercials and an AND1 video game.

Boucher trains and plays every day, including when on tour.[3]

Ballin Up Tour

After leaving AND1 in January 2011, Boucher played streetball for Ball Up. He 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 ten countries, and had plans for a winter tour in the U.S.[4]

Acting career

Boucher has used his status to appear in several films portraying basketball players. He 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, he disguised himself as the superhero and went to various basketball courts in the Los Angeles area to play against unsuspecting competitors. The first episode reached 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[5] of the series featured another street basketball player, Larry Williams,[6] who disguised himself as the popular Marvel Comics superhero Captain America. The sixth installment[7] featured a basketball player disguised as Deadpool. The seventh part[8] of series had a disguised Boucher facing off against another basketball player, disguised as Carnage.

Boucher also launched a ball-handling guide called Super-Human Dribbling,[9] 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.

In April 2019, Boucher suffered a career-threatening non-contact total tear of Achilles tendon.[11][12] He also suffered from accidental overdose of hydrocodone and acetaminophen during the early stages of rehabilitation, but had made a full recovery as of June 2020.[13] During his rehab period, he continued to publish YouTube content consisting of undated footage from before the injury, choosing not to make news of the injury public until August 2020, after his recovery was complete.

On October 7, 2020, Boucher revealed that he had tested positive for the coronavirus.[14]

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
2003–2008Streetball: The AND1 Mixtape TourHimselfTV series
2008Semi-ProSpirits Player #31 / Spurs Player #22Uncredited
2010PhenomTBAPre-production
2011Ball Don't LieStickyLead role; theatrical release date: TBA 2011

References
  1. Jordan, Jason (August 24, 2010). "The Professor schools on nicknames". ESPN RISE.
  2. 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.
  3. "BIO". The Professor Live Official Website. 2011.
  4. Day, James (May 16, 2011). "New opportunity for 'The Professor' means school is back in session". Statesman Journal.
  5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUyXalMwcr4, retrieved November 11, 2015 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. "The Official Site of the Street Basketball Association: SBA All Star Team". www.streetbasketballassociation.net. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
  7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMN2Bs_Cr1A, retrieved November 11, 2015 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnlL2e0RclQ, retrieved November 11, 2015 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. Super-Human Dribbling
  10. "World's Best Ball Handler, The Professor, Releases His Exclusive Basketball Workout to the Public". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  11. "The Professor Suffers Career Ending Injury... 2v2 vs Athletic Hoopers Miami Hood - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  12. "The Professor Gets Surgery.. Will He Ever Play Again? - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  13. "I Haven't Been Honest About My Injury.. Here's THE TRUTH - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  14. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEZW0Tj0eCE&feature=youtu.be
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