How This Basketball Star Learned to Navigate Life in the AND1 League

Published: June 4, 2024

How This Basketball Star Learned to Navigate Life in the AND1 League

By Movieguide® Contributor

In the world of sports, the NBA is the mainstream basketball league, but back in the day, another league was becoming popular.

The AND1 Mixtape Tour began in 2002 with “Legendary streetballers such as ‘Hot Sauce’ and ‘The Professor.'”

These players would “would go from city to city, court to court to challenge the greatest streetballers in one-on-one’s, entertaining fans and providing much of the footage for the ensuing Mixtapes.”

For many years, “AND1 dominated the summers” with all the games “televised live on ESPN under the name ‘Streetball’ and competed with ESPN’s SPORTSCENTER for the highest ratings.”

Player Grayson Boucher, nicknamed “The Professor,” joined the league in 2003. Boucher never played in a league like this before and knew it was going to be a big adjustment for him.

“I think, like, certain environments had me a little shook and then not knowing how to act like,” Boucher said on the “Deep End” podcast with Lecrae. “Like, we’d play in a lot of arenas where there was no white people in the city. So, like, you know, you want to be cool, so I’m like what does that look.”

Boucher often felt as if he had imposter syndrome, asking himself, “How am I supposed to navigate this space?”

However, he very quickly realized “everybody’s an imposter.”

“My whole AND1 the theme was like, ‘Are you like that?’ That’s what streetball was like,” he said. “Even getting out of it. When it ended, I started doing YouTube. It was actually really refreshing because everything is ‘Are you like that at practice?’ You always got to be on.”

He eventually found faith in God.

“I really want to start spreading the gospel,” Boucher said previously. “Not exactly preaching, but using basketball as a tool to bring people to Christ.”

Now, he often shares his skills on Instagram as well as ways he can help and encourage the next generation of basketball stars.

In one post, Boucher wrote, “…From the old school to the new school to current day, outside of God sustaining me, a huge part of what has got me through has been the dedication to perfecting the craft. Looking forward to igniting a new generation of hoopers on that same wave with Crossed Up University.”