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

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

of the same name, written by Matt de la Peña. It stars AND1 Mixtape team member

Grayson Boucher Grayson "The Professor" Scott Boucher (born June 10, 1984) is an American streetball player, actor, and former semi-professional basketball player. He is most known for playing on the highly stylized, international AND1 Mixtape Tour; he has also ...

, 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 Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was ...

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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

prodigy from

Venice, California Venice is a neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles within the Westside (Los Angeles County), Westside region of Los Angeles County, California. Venice was founded by Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a seaside resort town. It was an independent city unti ...

. 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, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family ...

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

Cast

Maxim Knight Maxim Knight (born August 21, 1999) is an American actor who started acting at the age of seven. He is perhaps best known for his supporting role on the TNT television series ''Falling Skies'' (2011–2015). Biography Maxim was born in Honol ...

- Sticky, Age 7 *

- Sticky * Kim Hidalgo - Annie *

Emilie de Ravin Emilie de Ravin (; born 27 December 1981) is an Australian actress. She starred as Tess Harding on ''Roswell'' (2000–2002), Claire Littleton on the ABC drama '' Lost'' (2004–2008, 2010), and as Belle on the ABC drama '' Once Upon a Time' ...

- 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 the ...

- Francine *

Ludacris Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, homophonous with 'ludicrous' in American English), is an American rapper, actor, record producer and record executive. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludac ...

- Julius *

Cress Williams Cress Williams (born July 26, 1970) is an American actor, known for his roles in ''Prison Break'' and '' Close to Home''. His most recent roles include Mayor Lavon Hayes on The CW series ''Hart of Dixie'' and the title character on The CW's ''Bla ...

- Dante *

Nick Cannon Nicholas Scott Cannon (born October 8, 1980) is an American television host, actor, rapper, and comedian. In television, Cannon began as a teenager on ''All That'' before going on to host ''The Nick Cannon Show'', ''Wild 'n Out'', ''America's G ...

- Mico * Dania Ramirez - 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 Awa ...

- Georgia *

Harold Perrineau Harold Perrineau (born August 7, 1963) is an American actor best known for his roles as Michael Dawson in the ABC television series '' Lost'' (2004–2010), Augustus Hill in the HBO television series '' Oz'' (1997–2003), Sheriff Boyd Steven ...

- Jimmy *

Mykelti Williamson Mykelti Williamson (born March 4, 1957) is an American actor best known for his roles in the films '' Forrest Gump'', '' Con Air'' and '' Ali'', and the television shows ''Boomtown'', '' 24'', and '' Justified''. In 2016, he portrayed Gabriel Ma ...

- Dallas *

Robert Wisdom Robert Ray Wisdom (born September 14, 1953) is an American actor, best known for his roles as Howard "Bunny" Colvin in ''The Wire,'' Norman "Lechero" St. John in ''Prison Break'', and Harold Conway in the 2021 Hulu movie '' Vacation Friends''. ...

- Perkins *

Steve Harris Steve Harris may refer to: * Steve Harris (musician) (born 1956), founder member and bassist of the band Iron Maiden * Steve Harris (actor) (born 1965), American film and TV actor * Steve Harris (basketball) (1963–2016), American basketball playe ...

- Rob * Allen Maldonado - Sin * John Bryant Davila - Venice Hardcore Teen * Mathew St. Patrick - Louis Accord * Michael Shamus Wiles - Coach Reynolds * Kirby Bliss Blanton - 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