''Ball Don't Lie'' is a 2008 film directed by Brin Hill. It is an adaptation of the

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

of the same name, written by

Matt de la Peña Matthew de la Peña is an American writer of children's books who specializes in novels for young adults. He won the Newbery Medal in 2016 for his book '' Last Stop on Market Street''. Biography A San Diego, California, native, Matt de la Peña r ...

. It stars AND1 Mixtape team member

Grayson Boucher Grayson Scott "The Professor" Boucher (born June 10, 1984) is an American professional streetball player. He is most known for playing on the highly stylized, international AND1 Mixtape Tour; he has also appeared in several movies including, ' ...

, a.k.a. The Professor. The film premiered at the 2008

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

Plot

''Ball Don't Lie'' plays out over one day in the life of Sticky (Boucher), a skinny high school sophomore

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

prodigy from

Venice, California Venice is a neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles within the Westside region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Venice was founded by Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a seaside resort town. It was an independent city until 1926, whe ...

. Burdened with emotional scars from a traumatic childhood, a callous

foster care Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home ( residential child care community or treatment centre), or private home of a state- certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent", or with a family mem ...

system, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, Sticky manages to transcend his limitations whenever he has a ball in his hands.

Cast

* Maxim Knight as "Sticky", Age 7 *

as "Sticky" * Kim Hidalgo as Annie *

Emilie de Ravin Emilie de Ravin (; born 27 December 1981) is an Australian actress. She first gained recognition for playing Tess Harding on The WB's science fiction television series ''Roswell (TV series), Roswell'' (2000–2002). She went on to portray Clai ...

as "Baby" *

Rosanna Arquette Rosanna Lisa Arquette (; born August 10, 1959) is an American actress. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for her performance in the TV film '' The Executioner's Song'' (1982) and won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for th ...

as Francine *

Ludacris Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, spoken as "ludicrous" in American English), is an American rapper and songwriter. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludacris moved to Atlanta, Georgia, at age ...

as Julius *

Cress Williams Cress Williams (born July 26, 1970) is an American actor, known for his roles in ''Prison Break'' and ''Close to Home (2005 TV series), Close to Home''. His most recent roles include Mayor Lavon Hayes on The CW Television Network, The CW series ' ...

as Dante *

Nick Cannon Nicholas Scott Cannon (born October 8, 1980) is an American comedian, television presenter, actor, and rapper. In television, he began his career as a teenager on Nickelodeon's '' All That'' before going on to host '' The Nick Cannon Show'', '' ...

as Mico *

Dania Ramirez Dania Ramirez (born November 8, 1979) is a Dominican actress. Her credits include the roles of Maya Herrera in the NBC series '' Heroes'', Alex in the HBO series '' Entourage'', and Blanca during the last season of the HBO crime drama ''The So ...

as Carmen *

Melissa Leo Melissa Chessington Leo (born September 14, 1960) is an American actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and two Critics' Choice A ...

as Georgia *

Harold Perrineau Harold Perrineau (born August 7, 1963) is an American actor. His breakout role was in the independent film ''Smoke'' (1995), for which he was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male. He went on to appear as Mercutio ...

as Jimmy *

Mykelti Williamson Mykelti Williamson (; born Michael T. Williamson; March 4, 1957) is an American actor and director best known for his roles in the films ''Forrest Gump'', '' 12 Angry Men'' (1997), ''Con Air'', and '' Ali'', and the television shows ''Boomtown'' ...

as Dallas *

Robert Wisdom Robert Ray Wisdom (born September 14, 1953) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Howard "Bunny" Colvin in ''The Wire'', Norman "Lechero" St. John in ''Prison Break'', and Jim Moss in '' Barry''. He has been honored with an NAACP Ima ...

as Perkins * Steve Harris as Rob *

Allen Maldonado Allen Maldonado (born May 20, 1983) is an American actor and filmmaker best known for his roles as Curtis in the ABC comedy '' Black-ish'', Bobby in the TBS series '' The Last O.G.'', Rooster in the Starz drama series '' Heels'', and Alan Decker ...

as "Sin" * John Bryant Davila as Venice Hardcore Teen * Mathew St. Patrick as Louis Accord *

Michael Shamus Wiles Michael Shamus Wiles (born October 27, 1955) is an American character actor of film and television onscreen since the 1980s who has appeared in over 100 films and television shows. Early life Wiles was born in Everett, Washington, and raised in ...

as Coach Reynolds *

Kirby Bliss Blanton Kirby Bliss Blanton (born October 24, 1990) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Kirby in the comedy film '' Project X'' and as Amy in the horror film '' The Green Inferno''. Life and career The youngest of four children, she gr ...

as Jamie Smith

References

External links

* * 2008 films American basketball films 2000s teen drama films Films set in Los Angeles American teen drama films Teen sports films 2008 drama films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films {{2000s-drama-film-stub