NewsWhore
08-15-2011, 03:00 PM
The best of Dominican basketball matches some of the best in Kentucky, as the DR national basketball team goes against a squad of Kentucky state stars. This takes the traditional Kentucky-Louisville rivalry to an international level, with one game at the Kentucky Wildcats court, and the other at the Louisville Cardinals court.
On Monday, 15 August, the former University of Kentucky stars and Louisville Cardinals will join forces to go against Dominican national team at the Rupp Arena in Lexington at 7:30pm, home of the UK Wildcats. Game 2 will be played on Tuesday at the KFC Yum! Center of the Louisville Cardinals.
These are exhibition games, with the peculiarity that the University of Kentucky alumni team is coached by former Kentucky Wildcats coach Joe B. Hall and former University of Louisville coach Denny Crum. Current Wildcats coach John Calipari, who leads the Dominicans, took on the coaching of the team in May.
The DR team will play two exhibitions and then continue its training at Kentucky's on-campus practice facility in Lexington in preparation for the 2011 FIBA Americas Tournament that begins 30 August and runs until September 11 in Mar de Plata, Argentina. The winner of the 10-team tournament will earn an automatic berth to the 2012 Olympics.
Tickets to the game at the 25,000-seat Rupp Arena quickly sold out. Playing tonight are 11 NBA players, eight former Wildcats, one current Wildcat and a pair of former Cardinals, as reported in the Louisville Courier-Journal.
"It's going to be a circus," Atlanta Hawks forward Al Horford, a former Florida Gator and one of the starters for a Dominican team, as reported in the Courier-Journal. "It's going to be a big road game for us. Big Blue is going to show out. It's going to be a good test. We're going to be playing against Argentina at home over there. This is good preparation. I don't think there's any arena in South America that sits 25,000 like here."
While the game is part of the Dominican team's preparation for the upcoming FIBA Americas tournament, the draw for the Kentucky crowds is to see the match of NBA players, most from Kentucky and some other outsiders -- Rajon Rondo (Celtics), John Wall (Wizards), Jodie Meeks (76ers), Tayshaun Prince (Pistons), DeMarcus Cousins (Kings), Francisco Garcia (Kings), Charlie Villanueva (Pistons).
The DR's Garcia said the national team experience has been helpful to him, Horford and Charlie Villanueva (Pistons) as they've had access to UK's facilities and a rigorous training regime to keep their game sharp during the NBA lockout. Proceeds from the game will help pay for the expenses of the DR National Team.
The Dominican Republic National Team will feature 12 players, scheduled to include current NBA stars Francisco Garcia (Sacramento Kings), Al Horford (Atlanta Hawks) and Charlie Villanueva (Detroit Pistons), and Edgar Sosa who has played professionally in Italy.
Their Kentucky opponents will consist of eight NBA players who are scheduled to attend, including Eric Bledsoe (Los Angeles Clippers), Keith Bogans (Chicago Bulls), DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento Kings), Jodie Meeks (Philadelphia 76ers), Nazr Mohammed (Oklahoma City Thunder), Tayshaun Prince (Detroit Pistons), Rajon Rondo (Boston Celtics) and John Wall (Washington Wizards). Both rosters are subject to change.
The Rupp Arena game will be televised live on WKYT-27 at 7:30pm. The pre-game show starts at 7pm. Dave Baker and Christi Thomas will handle the play-by-play and color commentary. The game will also be available live on radio on WVLK-FM 101.5.
Read more:
www.kentucky.com/2011/08/14/1845638/kentucky-pros-vs-dominicans-game.html#ixzz1V6IQ01Bk (http://www.kentucky.com/2011/08/14/1845638/kentucky-pros-vs-dominicans-game.html#ixzz1V6IQ01Bk)
www.kentucky.com/2011/08/15/1845815/kentucky-pros-pumped-for-return.html (http://www.kentucky.com/2011/08/15/1845815/kentucky-pros-pumped-for-return.html)
www.courier-journal.com/article/20110814/SPORTS03/308140105/Kentucky-Dominican-Exhibition-Like-old-times-UK-Pros-?odyssey=nav%7Chead (http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20110814/SPORTS03/308140105/Kentucky-Dominican-Exhibition-Like-old-times-UK-Pros-?odyssey=nav%7Chead)
http://kykernel.com/2011/08/14/pros-vs-dominican-republic-game-will-be-a-circus/
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#9)
On Monday, 15 August, the former University of Kentucky stars and Louisville Cardinals will join forces to go against Dominican national team at the Rupp Arena in Lexington at 7:30pm, home of the UK Wildcats. Game 2 will be played on Tuesday at the KFC Yum! Center of the Louisville Cardinals.
These are exhibition games, with the peculiarity that the University of Kentucky alumni team is coached by former Kentucky Wildcats coach Joe B. Hall and former University of Louisville coach Denny Crum. Current Wildcats coach John Calipari, who leads the Dominicans, took on the coaching of the team in May.
The DR team will play two exhibitions and then continue its training at Kentucky's on-campus practice facility in Lexington in preparation for the 2011 FIBA Americas Tournament that begins 30 August and runs until September 11 in Mar de Plata, Argentina. The winner of the 10-team tournament will earn an automatic berth to the 2012 Olympics.
Tickets to the game at the 25,000-seat Rupp Arena quickly sold out. Playing tonight are 11 NBA players, eight former Wildcats, one current Wildcat and a pair of former Cardinals, as reported in the Louisville Courier-Journal.
"It's going to be a circus," Atlanta Hawks forward Al Horford, a former Florida Gator and one of the starters for a Dominican team, as reported in the Courier-Journal. "It's going to be a big road game for us. Big Blue is going to show out. It's going to be a good test. We're going to be playing against Argentina at home over there. This is good preparation. I don't think there's any arena in South America that sits 25,000 like here."
While the game is part of the Dominican team's preparation for the upcoming FIBA Americas tournament, the draw for the Kentucky crowds is to see the match of NBA players, most from Kentucky and some other outsiders -- Rajon Rondo (Celtics), John Wall (Wizards), Jodie Meeks (76ers), Tayshaun Prince (Pistons), DeMarcus Cousins (Kings), Francisco Garcia (Kings), Charlie Villanueva (Pistons).
The DR's Garcia said the national team experience has been helpful to him, Horford and Charlie Villanueva (Pistons) as they've had access to UK's facilities and a rigorous training regime to keep their game sharp during the NBA lockout. Proceeds from the game will help pay for the expenses of the DR National Team.
The Dominican Republic National Team will feature 12 players, scheduled to include current NBA stars Francisco Garcia (Sacramento Kings), Al Horford (Atlanta Hawks) and Charlie Villanueva (Detroit Pistons), and Edgar Sosa who has played professionally in Italy.
Their Kentucky opponents will consist of eight NBA players who are scheduled to attend, including Eric Bledsoe (Los Angeles Clippers), Keith Bogans (Chicago Bulls), DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento Kings), Jodie Meeks (Philadelphia 76ers), Nazr Mohammed (Oklahoma City Thunder), Tayshaun Prince (Detroit Pistons), Rajon Rondo (Boston Celtics) and John Wall (Washington Wizards). Both rosters are subject to change.
The Rupp Arena game will be televised live on WKYT-27 at 7:30pm. The pre-game show starts at 7pm. Dave Baker and Christi Thomas will handle the play-by-play and color commentary. The game will also be available live on radio on WVLK-FM 101.5.
Read more:
www.kentucky.com/2011/08/14/1845638/kentucky-pros-vs-dominicans-game.html#ixzz1V6IQ01Bk (http://www.kentucky.com/2011/08/14/1845638/kentucky-pros-vs-dominicans-game.html#ixzz1V6IQ01Bk)
www.kentucky.com/2011/08/15/1845815/kentucky-pros-pumped-for-return.html (http://www.kentucky.com/2011/08/15/1845815/kentucky-pros-pumped-for-return.html)
www.courier-journal.com/article/20110814/SPORTS03/308140105/Kentucky-Dominican-Exhibition-Like-old-times-UK-Pros-?odyssey=nav%7Chead (http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20110814/SPORTS03/308140105/Kentucky-Dominican-Exhibition-Like-old-times-UK-Pros-?odyssey=nav%7Chead)
http://kykernel.com/2011/08/14/pros-vs-dominican-republic-game-will-be-a-circus/
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#9)