The Professor - Diary #7

I’m off to minicamp tomorrow afternoon to NYC for 3 days. I’m very excited to get things moving with the tour! A lot of people are asking about tour dates so i decided to post them on here.......

June 16th NYC
June 23rd Boston
June 30rd ATL
July 14th Philly
July 21st DC
July 28th Detroit
August 4th Chicago
August 11th Dallas
August 18th San Fransisco
August 25th Los Angeles

My next blog entry will be about minicamp and ill have some photos to go with it.......

The Professor - Questions/Answers

And1’s Professor is answering all of your questions here each week on HoopsVibe.com. Send your to asktheprofessor@hoopsvibe.com.

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Hey Fess, how do you cope with having a bad game?? I’m a baller who plays every week and when I have a bad game I get really embaressed cos I’m supposed to be good at it!! I dont have the publicity you have so I just wondered how you cope with it?......if you have a bad game!!Thanks dude keep doin your thing, God Bless

Professor:
Whatup Ben. Honestly this is one of the best questions I’ve ever been asked. The thing that you got to remember about having a bad game is that its not the end of the world. Even MJ had bad games in his career. Its not something you want to make a habit of but it does happen. What I do to cope with it is just know that it isn’t the end of the world and try to figure out why it happened. Whether I didn’t mentally prepare right or I did something wrong during the game or in warmups and make sure that it never happens again. If I do have a bad game I always come back and make sure I have an extra good game the next night out to sort of mentally make up for the bad game before. So remember, it’s nothing to be embarassed about because it happens to everyone.

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Just wondering if And 1 will be doing an international tour and where the team will be headed. As an Australian, apparently And1 hasn’t been in Perth, WA for like 3-4 years. I love the team and tour, and am very anxious to see them. Also, how do the open runs work over seas? Is there age limits or any specific requirements?

The Professor - Photo Diary

Some "behind the scene" pictures of the team during our photo shoot in LA. Click pictures to enlarge.

The Professor - Diary #6

Two weeks ago was the first time this year the whole 2007 And 1 team got together under one roof. We were all out in LA for some meetings and a big photo shoot to promote the tour. The theme for this years tour is ’United Streets of America.’ That campaign partly has to do with the fact that our 10 city US tour this year has every game scheduled to be played outside. And 1 is going for a new look this year on the ESPN tv show ’Streetball.’

Consider the tour to be somewhat reinvented. Its going to be different from the last 4 years where each city looked so similar on tape inside the big arenas. This time around the setting of the games are gonna be so hot because you’ll be able to identify where we are at each game. For example, the game in NYC is going to be played in Coney Island, which is definitely easy to identify and you’ll be able to connect with where the game is at. Similar to how it was in 2002 when they had an outdoor game at Venice Beach and it was so apparent that they were in Cali because you could identify with all the palm trees and beach front atmosphere.

All us players are hyped for this years upcoming tour and looking forward to playing with each other. During our time together everyone was enthusiastic and excited to officially get things moving. The whole weekend included a couple of meetings talking about what to expect from this upcoming tour, then some meetings regarding rules and what’s expected of the players, then the photo shoot, and last they had a meeting where we evaluated the gear coming out for the upcoming season. When we all get together like that, time is always taken up by messin’ with each other, talkin’ shit, and just having a good time. Some of the stuff I remember us laughing at was when Sauce was killin’ some people on the team with imitations. He’s got everyone on the team down pat! Its funny as hell to see him turn into people when he imitates! Then I remember everyone arguing at one point talking bout is Lil’ Romeo going to be a good Pac-10 level player, some people said yes and some said no. We all are fans of the game just as much as we are players on every level whether its high school, college, minor leagues, overseas, streetball, or the league.

During the photo shoot they told us they ended up taking about 2500 photos for the upcoming promotions for the tour. That includes autograph cards, posters, print adds, and flyers etc. Were going to have an add in all the magazines coming out soon with the tour schedule and all of the players that’s gonna be hot! Its got all of us as a team looking like soldiers together reppin’ ’United Streets of America’. Some of the photos taken that day during our downtime will follow shortly....

Professor
And1 #12

AKAtheProfessor.com

The Professor - Diary #5

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about getting in character for my upcoming movie I start filming May 29th. In the film I play Sticky, a high school aged foster kid from Venice, California.

Sounds like an easy role but the hardest thing is that the kid had OCD(Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). I got about a month to get in character and carry a lead role. For me its all about managing my time more responsible than usual. When I’m on the road a lot of my down time is dedicated to reading through the script out loud.

Tomorrow I go back to LA for 2 weeks. When I’m in LA I spend about 2 or 3 hrs a day with an acting coach who has been real helpful. I’m going to get up with some real life OCD kids as well to see how they act on a day to day basis, which I think will really help me understand the disorder and be able to imitate it.

One main thing I’ve learned about acting so far up until this point is that the expression on your face is a direct reflection of your thoughts and the camera picks up everything. So if you visualize the thoughts that your character is going through mentally, it will pickup on camera and be authentic. It sounds like it makes perfect sense but I had never really thought about it until the past few months. I’m excited to go hard becoming my character this last month until we start filming and on top of that I have three streetball games coming up this month in North Carolina, Reno and Las Vegas.

So its gonna be a busy month but a good one and maybe the most important of the year. Ill get back mid week with another entry.

Professor
And1 #12

AKAtheProfessor.com

The Professor - Diary #4

Last night we finished off the road trip with the 5th game on the 5th day in Oklahoma City at Northeastern High School. As you probably can guess we were tired as hell and worn out. But we had to find that last bit of energy to finish the trip off with a show to remember. It ain’t like we were playing a bunch of bums this game either. They were all college players and half of them played D1. I started off the game playing straight off adrenaline and nothing else. Scored about 10 in a row in the first quarter and put it through some dudes legs and snatched it back, made him spin around. I ended up with 40 or 50, with 7 threes, not sure exactly how much I scored but I definitely can say it wasn’t only my best game of the trip but one of my best games I’ve played in streetball.

Springs did his usual scoring about 50 points and shuttin it down in the end of the game with his windmill and a through the legs dunk. Everybody showed they ass off though. Highrizer and Big Swole did their thing with about 10 dunks a piece and shuttin it down the last minute with a double alleyoop!

Now its back to LA for the week to continue my acting lessons and get some rest. Right when I get to LAX I have to do and interview for volume 10, which doesn’t have a set release date yet. We bounce out to texas for 2 more games on Thursday. So until then I’m out....

Professor
And1 #12

AKAtheProfessor.com

The Professor - Diary #3

Lately there has been a lot of talk about what HoopsVibe calls ’the split’ in streetball. There are a lot of things up in the air and people really don’t know what’s what. So I just want to clarify a few things that haven’t been addressed.

First off, the roster for Team And 1 is looking like this currently:
-Professor
-Hot Sauce
-Springs
-Baby Shaq
-Silk -Bad One
-Escalade
-Helicopter
-8th Wonder
-Go Get It
-Assasign

Second, I have love for everyone in streetball. And I wish everyone the best. I was a fan of And 1 before I even was on the team, so you know I got love for streetball players. I’ve learned a lot from veterans. But everyone over here with And 1 is happy with everything. We all are excited to be one another’s teammates and embark on one of the best summers we’ve ever had. No one over here is hanging their head about anything that’s happened or the current roster we have. I’ve never been so excited before a summer since I’ve been with And 1. Here’s a couple main points that were up in the air that i want to clarify.

*Hot Sauce
People were asking whether my boy Hot Sauce is with And1 or another tour and its confirmed. He’s with And 1 and is happy with it. Every player over here signed with And 1 is happy with their decision, its what we CHOSE to do and these players are who And 1 selected to be on their tour.

*Tours
Were set out to be on the road for 10 cities kickin off June 16th in NYC. The company knows that doing a 30 city tour and hitting markets that didn’t sell heavy or at all in the past few years is pointless. They feel like the direction of the tour needed a new look and some new faces.

*TV Show and Game Footage
We have another two year deal signed with ESPN. ESPN Streetball will start this summer again as always with a different look. With all the games outside and some new faces the show will be reinvented, which I belive was needed. There will be a mixtape vol 10 which doesn’t have a set date of release as of yet.

Professor
And1 #12

AKAtheProfessor.com

The Professor - Diary #2

In the last month my And 1 teammates Springs, Bad Santa and myself have been playing in streetball exhibitions games on the weekends all over the south and midwest. Lately we’ve been through West Virginia, Kentucky, Texas, South Carolina and Minnesota to name a few. We try to hit B and C markets that aren’t cities the And 1 tour would tour in. It gives people in those cities that can never get to an And 1 game a chance to see us live.

Last night we had a game in Springfield, Missouri that was crazy! My guy Springs, who is the best kept secret right now in streetball, and in my opinion the best 2 guard showed out big time last night. He had about 50 points to go along with a dunk from 1 step in front of the free-throw line and at one point crossed a dude and hit a 25 footer! This dude is ridiculous......just to give you an example , the kid goes between the legs from the free throw line and he’s only 6’ 2"!!!!

Last night I was showin out myself........I had 40 points and 8 asissts, and shut it down one time when this dude who was guarding me was takin stuff real personal. He was playin D so eratic and out of control, all off balance. So as you might guess I had to iso him on the wing, cross him one time and put him on his ass. He slipped so hard his face hit the ground! The crowd was loving it, they went nuts! At the end of the day that’s what we go in the building to do, is hold our name down, represent ourselves and And 1.

When we leave the building we want people to be happy and have some memories so we can follow up with a game there the next year. My boy Kenny Bruner aka The One(formerly known as Bad Santa) is a monster on the court wherever he plays. Lately he’s been averaging a triple double, no lie! I got people all around me right now who can co-sign for that. Out here were developing a chemistry never had before on any streetball tour. So when the And 1 tour kicks off June 16th in NYC it could be scary....

Professor
And1 #12

AKAtheProfessor.com

The Professor - Diary #1

This upcoming year is going to be real busy for me, which is always a good thing! When I’m busy business wise, that means I’m busy doing things to keep money coming in and increase my exposure.

Streetball’s exposure on ESPN and the mixtapes has opened up so many doors for me in life that it’s ridiculous. Everything from playing pro basketball, to going to over 20 other countries, to making appearences on different TV shows, and even getting 2 movie roles.

I recently had a role in a Will Ferrell movie that doesn’t release until 2008. It’s a basketball movie that’s a comedy based in the 1970’s about the ABA. Other actors in the movie are Woody Harrelson and Andre 3000 from Outkast. It was a huge opportunity for me and a great way to kick off an acting career. What a better opportunity then to work with a guy such as Will Ferrell who is at the top of his career, making about 3 to 4 films a year. We started out by doing a month long mini-camp to get down the plays for the basketball scenes. Working will Will, Woody, and Andre was a great experience. I got to work with those guys on honing their basketball skills which was definitely a project but super fun. Woody and Will were decent. They were both big fans of streetball which I found real cool! They both watch the show and knew a lot about the tour. After the mini-camp I went to film my part in the movie last month for 2 weeks straight. I had a great time. In the movie you can look for me on the San Antonio Spurs who play Will’s team in the final game for 4th place. I have an old school Pistol-Pete like wig and am number 22.

Next month, starting on the 29th, I will be filming my 2nd movie where I have the lead role. The name of the movie is Ball Don’t Lie. More details of that movie, which has been in the works for about 2 years can be found on www.3stonesback.com.

Professor
And1 #12

AKAtheProfessor.com