Though not one to be a pessimist, streetballer “The Professor” said that height and power are crucial to achieve any dream you want to reach in basketball.
It’s not everything you need, but streetball legend Grayson “The Professor” Boucher acknowledged that players need physical prowess like height and power if they hope to make something of themselves in the world of basketball.
Standing at 5-foot-10 himself, Boucher said that standing tall in the literal sense makes it easier to reach one’s basketball dreams. Though not entirely exclusive, towering over competition does give one an advantage that pushes them farther into elite level of play.
While his current track, streetball, doesn’t seem to put as much premium on physique as organized basketball like in the NBA, he knows that it’s still something a player needs — or at least make up for it in skills.
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“Well, height and strength, it matters. I think with encouragement, people will be like, height doesn't matter. You know what I'm saying? You the proof. They'll be like, height doesn't even matter. I'll be like, no, it matters. Trust me,” Boucher said at a press conference on Friday during the Manila stop in his Anta tour.
“The smaller you are to compete at higher levels, the more skilled you've got to be. That's what generally, the less tall you are and the less strong you are, the more skilled you have to be to compete at higher levels.”
It’s not all downers for Bouche, though, he still had a lot of good things to say — especially about Filipinos who stand closer to his own height than other basketball players, say in the NBA or in other professional organized basketball leagues.
Being able to succeed in hoops himself, Boucher believed that hard work can pay off, but only if you can make up the difference.
“What I would [say to[ encourage people is it is doable. You know what I mean? It is doable. I know people shorter than me that play at a high level, right?” he said.
Boucher, who is in Manila for a few days as part of his Asia Tour with Anta, spoke about his former teammate DeAndre “The Mosquito” Bray, who stood at 5-foot-6 but competed well with other basketball players — even those in the NBA.
However, Boucher did have a disclaimer on what someone needs to do.
“You can be extremely effective if you're small. But it's going to take like more sacrifice. You have to spend more time with the game to be more skilled and be more scrappy and physical and pesky and all those things,” he said.
“So I think for me, and I'm more of a finesse player, like defense was a, like I would lock up on the low. But like defense was never like my strong suit, you know? So there's all different ways you could do it. But generally, you'll have to be more skilled to compete. And it is possible,” he continued.