This week’s guest is global streetball hooper Grayson “The Professor” Boucher. In this episode he shares his journey from Kaiser, OR to And 1 fame, to Youtube influencer. The ballhandling skills he showcases on the basketball court and in Youtube videos came at the price of commitment and putting in the work. He went from learning the game of basketball with his first idol, his father, to playing the game with some streetball idols.

We learn something from his career beyond dedication and practice. We learn the significance of proximity to cultures and people who do not look like you. As African Americans and other people of color we almost have to be in white spaces. But that is not the case for over seventy percent of white Americans who do not have any non-white friends, let alone Black friends (which means most white Americans do not have to engage people outside of their own culture). He immersed himself in a culture at the intersection of Hip Hop and basketball. He has genuine relationships and mentorship from people of color in the game. This is what embodied solidarity looks like, not just having co-workers of color a person may not even know beyond work.

Grayson also talks about how his faith informs how he tries to carry himself on and off the court without claiming perfection as a Christian. But basketball also influences his faith. Listen in on the conversation with “The Professor” and glean from his life and career. This is also a great podcast for young hoopers and athletes to listen to.

You can follow “The Professor” on Youtube at Professor Live; on Instagram and Tik Tok @theprofessor.

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Phil Allen, Jr. is a Los Angeles-based pastor, social justice activist, filmmaker and author. Allen’s book Open Wounds explores the murder of Nate Allen—Phil Allen’s grandfather—in the Jim Crow era of South Carolina and how that traumatic event resonated through generations of his family. Open Wounds – which is based on the Allen-produced documentary of the same name – was published on February 9, 2021. The book can be purchased on Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, or Fortress Press.com. Allen is a Ph.D. student studying Christian ethics at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA.