"Most people call it the hood but to me it's just love."

The latest video from Grayson "The Professor" Boucher should bring back some great memories for Streetball fans of the late 90s and early 00s. In it, the Professor meets up with streetball legend Aaron "AO" Owens and a future ankle breaker student of his, Dakota McCaughan, in North Philly. When discussing the streetball legend, I always have to bring up the fact that Owens was also a Division II All-American, played ball overseas and in the D-League because of the fact so many people underrate the talent that was on the original And 1 mixtapes.  He never made it to the league but he had the respect from players in it.

Keeping with the Philly theme, here's Owens trying to come up with his list of top 5 Philly basketball players: Wilt Chamberlain, Hank Gathers and his high school and college teammate Bo Kimble, Kobe Bryant (if you consider Kobe being from Philly), Kareem Town and Brian "Sad Eye" Watson at #1.  You can learn more about Watson in this great piece from Slam, which mentions his 10 threes in the second half of a Shaq charity game with Rafer Alston and Booga Smith in 1998.

BONUS VIDEO

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Ballup took on Louisville at Freedom hall this past weekend and ended up easily winning 111-78 in a blowout victory. Professor and Bone collector put on a show for the sellout crowd with an array of crosses and head bops. 2 more contestants were picked, who will win the contract at the end of the season?

• GAME 1: Kansas City (June 22, 2013) - G-Smith goes off in debut
• GAME 2: Louisville (June 30, 2013) - Professor & Bone Collector show out
• "THE SIT DOWN" INTERVIEW: The Professor 
• "THE SIT DOWN" INTERVIEW: CEO Demetrius Spencer

Continuing to take the world of streetball by storm, Ball Up announced its 2013 nationwide basketball tour today, which will travel throughout the country this summer. Traveling from Los Angeles to New York, the team will kick off an exciting series of action-packed games on June 22, in Kansas City, MO and will wrap up with a championship game in conjunction with TD Jake’s Megafest festival in Dallas, TX on August 31.

Ball Up’s innovative spin on the game of streetball has redefined the sport by bringing some of the top, untapped talent to basketball courts across the world along with big name stars that have graced the NBA hardwood as well. This year’s impressive roster includes, The Professor, AO, Baby Shaq, Air Up There, Bone Collector, Pat the Roc, Special FX, Springs, Sik Wit It, Violator and G. Smith. Rafer “Skip to My Lou” Alston and Sebastian Telfair will both serve as judges for the open run tryouts in each city. Guest coaches of the opposing teams in each city will be announced as the tour progresses and includes Hall of Fame NBA players and basketball legends. Special contests during each game will also give select lucky fans the opportunity to meet the guest coaches in each region.

As the tour makes its way across the country, Ball Up will be on the quest for a new breed of performer in the annual “Search for the Next” competition, where one lucky player will gain a coveted spot on the roster. “We’re excited about the tour this summer and are very proud to be in our third year,” said Ball Up CEO, Demetrius Spencer. “We have some great surprises lined up for fans and of course, the team is ready to take on the competition each city has to offer.”

In addition to some of the most show-stopping streetball in the world, the highly anticipated games will also feature special guest appearances, musical performances, family entertainment and more. Additionally, taking viewers nationwide behind the scenes on and off the court of the toughest streetball team around, the tour will be filmed for top rated television series, “Ball Up Search for the Next” airing fall on Fox Sports 1. Past and present sponsors of the Ball Up tour include, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Wilson, Marines, SkullCandy, Toyota and Under Armour.

From Slam Online

Dr J, Air Up There, Anthony Anderson and Cedric Cebbalos judging the 2012 Ballup Dunk Contest

Founded in 2009, Ball Up is the leading streetball tour in the nation, featuring the Ball Up All-Stars which include many of the most celebrated and talented streetball players from around the country. Through its debut of the 2011 Ball Up Season on Fox Sports Net nationwide and tours that span the globe, Ball Up provides the ultimate streetball experience for both fans courtside and viewers at home.

COACH: Tracy Murray
SPECIAL GUEST JUDGES: Rafer Alston & Sebastian Telfair

NEWS

• Iverson, Rafer Alston & Ballup in China All-Star game
• Ballup's Special Fx talks about Shaq owing him money & J.Cole on Thisis50
• Ballup beats And1 at LA Lights
• Air Up There dunks over Maria Menounos on ExtraTV
• Life on the Road Episode 1 with The Bone Collector

Website: Ballup.com
Twitter: @Ballup
Facebook: BallupOfficial
YouTube: BallupStreetball

More Ballup News & Videos: On Ballislife

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"Life on the Road" - Episode 1 - "Bone Collector"

The Ball Up streetball tour beings with a look at Bone Collector: out of jail and ready to make his mark on the nationwide tour. Life on the Road follows streetball legends Professor, Bone Collector, Air Up There, Sik Wit It, and Pat the Roc as they perform amazing basketball feats, and balance their lives on tour with Ball Up, the premier streetball league.

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Streetball guards are usually distinguished between two positions: ball handlers and entertainers. Although ball handlers take care of the rock most of the time, entertainers understand that handling the rock is just part of what they do. Everyone comes to streetball games not only to see the competition but for the entertainment, and the Ball Up squad understands that. That’s why when Ball Up’s entertainers, AO and Sik Wit It, come to play, they’re looking to put on a performance for the crowd. If you’ve ever been to a game with these two playing, you know they’re not just playing basketball. From time to time, when AO’s in the game, he'll just start clowning. He will take hold of the camera and shoot some of the action while Sik Wit It entertains by spinning the ball on his finger dancing to the music being played. They always keep the crowd interested while still performing at a high level of streetball.

We were able to ask AO a few questions about entertaining the crowd.

Ball is Life: You are considered a veteran to the streetball game. Do you think it’s tougher now to keep crowds entertained compared to when you first started since now everyone has expectations on what they’re going to see?
AO: It’s tougher because it’s been eleven years since the first streetball tour, so fans want to see the impossible now.

BIL: I see you guys always joking around and having fun. Do you think your game reflects your personality? Or is it more of an alter ego when you go out there?
AO: Yeah, who you are as a person is definitely what the fans see on the court.

BIL: How do you come up with something new to keep the crowd entertained?
AO: My game is all spontaneous so whatever I do at that moment was meant for that moment.

BIL: Do you still have the same love for the fans as you did when you first started? Do you still get the same enjoyment entertaining the fans?
AO: The fans keep me going from kids who looked up to me 10 years ago to the new generation of fans with Ball Up.

No matter how you feel about streetball, these guys have been on their grind putting the work in to keep crowds entertained throughout the last decade. The Ball Up team is doing its best to not only keep improving their game but also keeping their fan base hyped to see every game.

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Here's the latest game recap from this season. They just had a strong showing out in Chicago, and they are now heading to Boston, NY, and Baltimore. This Friday night, they'll be at Harvard University; Saturday they're at City College of NY, and Sunday they'll be balling at Coppin State! Here's the Ball Up Facebook page and their schedule, and you can get tickets by clicking on the schedule. For all the latest Ball Up highlights and news, you can check it out here at Ballislife.

The post Exclusive Ballislife Interview w/ AO from BallUp Streetball!! Plus BallUp Game 5 Recap! appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

The post Air Up There Dunks ALL OVER Defender; Bone Collector Ends A Career! Ball Up Chicago Re-Cap Mixtape! appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

The Ball Up 2012 Tour started this Friday Night in Los Angeles at Cal State Dominguez Hills against Tyreke Evan’s Streetball Team, and it was a game filled with highlights from start to finish! Both teams started to pick up the competitiveness mid way through the 1st quarter. Bone Collector, one of a couple Ball Up players from LA, came out and did what he does best scoring after crossing a few defenders with his signature hesitation crossover. From Tyreke’s team, Jesse “The Kid” was firing early and was showing out with a few new moves that got the crowd excited. Mr. Afrika had the first dunk to get the crowd really going with a nasty fastbreak two-hand windmill. The second quarter started off with an Air Up There dunk off a lob from Pat the Roc which was followed up by this powerful windmill by Mr. Afrika.

The game started to break open with two back to back dunks by Springs, one of them off an oop. Springs showed why he’s still considered one of the top 1-foot dunkers in the streetball world. The Ball Up Team went on solid run with a couple of alley oops between Bone Collector and Mr. Afrika and a sick windmill by Special FX. Assassin from Tyreke Evan’s team started to heat up after hitting a few J’s. Sik Wit It, the other Ball Up player from LA, did what he does best and entertained the crowd with some of his dance moves while handling the rock and hitting a trey over Jesse, which led Jesse to come back at Sik Wit It with a few of his own moves. The half would end with a few more insane dunks from the Ball Up Team inlcuding a Pat the Roc lob to Air Up There, where Air Up There’s head was way over the rim. It's ridiculous how high the Ball Up Dunkers get on some of their dunks!

In the second half, Tyreke’s team tried to make the game closer with The Handy Man hitting a few threes and getting a few dunks, but the Ball Up Team came out just as strong and pushed the lead to over 20. The Ball Up Team played well together from their passing and alley-oops and even some defense led by Violator. Mr. Afrika finished with a few ridiculous windmills, and Bone Collector still has one of the nastiest, quickest crossovers that I’ve ever seen. The Ball Up Team walked away with the W against Tyreke Evan's team winning by over 30 points. The game was crazy, and it had the crowd jumping out their seats all night!

The Ball Up Team is playing today in Phoenix, Arizona at the Grand Canyon University Arena. Here's the Ball Up Facebook page and their schedule, and you can get tickets by clicking on the schedule. For all the latest Ball Up highlights and news, you can check it out here at Ballislife.

The post Ball Up Streetball Smashes in First Game of 2012 Tour! Air Up There, Bone Collector & Crew Put On A Show! appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.