Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about getting in character to play Stick. You know, everyone thinks this shouldn’t be something to sweat: They look at the film and say, High School-aged foster kid from Venice who balls, that’s easy for you. But, it’s a big challenge because of the OCD. I look at the dates and realize I got a month to get in character and carry the lead role of the film. That’s serious.

For me, it’s all about managing my time with more responsibility than usual. When I’m on the road, most of my downtime is dedicated to reading the script out loud to myself. After I play tonight, I return to LA for two weeks before another streetball game. When I’m in LA, I spend about two-to-three hours a day with our acting coach, Ben. That’s been real helpful.

Looks like the folks on the production are setting me up to get up with some real life kids with OCD to help me really see how they act on a day-to-day basis. I think this will help me understand the disorder and be able to imitate it. I hope the film does a lot to showcase what it’s like to be living with something like OCD.

One main thing I’ve learned about acting up to this point is how on film the expression on your face is really a direct reflection of your thoughts. Everyone’s been telling me that the camera picks up everything and knows when you’re faking it. So, if I visualize the thoughts that Sticky is going through mentally, it will read on camera and be real authentic. It sounds like it makes perfect sense, but I had never really thought on it until the past few months of preparation.

I’m excited to go hard with becoming my character this last month of prep. I know it’s a busy month with all the work I have to do for the film and then head out to play the final three streetball games on this current tour in North Carolina, Reno and Las Vegas. It’ll be hectic, but good, and perhaps the most important time of the year for me.