ATLANTA, GA (July 10,, 2007) - Atlanta Krunk founder and acting GM Spyder D Hughes has reached a tentative agreement with the first signee in franchise history. Grayson Boucher (pronounced boo-shay), AKA The Professor of AND1 fame, has agreed in principle, to join the Krunk when his AND1 commitments have been fulfilled.

"Mark Edwards (who has been the managing agent in preliminary talks for The Professor) and I have been discussing this possibilty for a while, even before the signing of Kenny Anderson as Head Coach. I have a great deal of respect for Kenny, so I asked him did he mind me signing a player he had not necessarily chosen himself", says Spyder D Hughes. Kenny is a very thorough individual, and as such, did his research on the young man. All of the scouting reports and feedback were positive about Grayson's work ethic and skill set. I personally was impressed with Grayson's basketball IQ and ability to see the entire floor, and his anticipation of what is about to unfold on the court. He is dedicated and serious about taking his game to the next level, and he is a national fan favorite.

The formality of signing the CBA player contract, and subsequent submission to the league for approval, shall be completed within the coming week.

Anderson felt that the toughest adjustment for the new signee would be learning the defensive scheme since "The Professor's" AND1 commitment will have him miss a great deal of the Atlanta Krunk training camp. "Offensively, I am not concerned about him picking up the plays", says Anderson, the former NBA All Star. "He will have to learn the defensive scheme that we are installing. That is where the biggest adjustment will be, after missing parts of training camp." On a conference call with Anderson, Boucher and Edwards, Hughes said he was straight up with Boucher, and so was Anderson. "I told Grayson that he would probably be a marked man when he did come to camp because of him being the first signee, and his notable celeb status", said Hughes. Kenny told him that he was also looking at a few others that play his position. "The Professor's" reaction was what Hughes thought it should be. "He didn't flinch! Absolutely no fear. I loved that response. That is what a point guards mentality is supposed to be. No fear!"

When majority owner Freedom Williams was informed of the impending signing of the franchise's first player, his thoughts were, "This is an important building block in the construction of our franchise. It is good that he (The Professor) and Kenny have a mutual admiration and respect for one another, and that he also understands that he will have some catching up to do when he arrives in camp."

Hughes stated that he would inform the production team at Stephon Marbury's Starbury, who will be manufacturing the teams game wear, to produce the teams first official jersey with the name Boucher on the back. When asked what number he preferred, Boucher quickly stated, "The number 12 is my preferred jersey number."

Boucher just finished filming "Ball Don't Lie", an independant film with co-stars Ludacris and Nick Cannon. Boucher will lead the cast,  playing a teen basketball phenom struggling with life on the streets.

So a new era begins in Atlanta professional basketball, with the number 12.