By Jessica Camerato
CSNNE.comFollow @JCameratoNBA
Welcome back to Friday Free Throws, a weekly recap of the most interesting news, notes, and information that may not have made the headlines but are still worth a read.
Want to see Rajon Rondo play basketball this summer?
Now Celtics fans can, thanks to University of Kentucky head coach John Calipari.
Calipari announced on Twitter the Dominican National Team will play against the Kentucky Pro Team on August 15 at Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY.
The Kentucky squad will feature eight former Wildcats currently in the NBA: Rondo,
John Wall, Tayshaun Prince, Eric Bledsoe, DeMarcus Cousins, Jodie Meeks, Nazr Mohammed, and Keith Bogans. They will be coached by Sam Bowie and Joe B. Hall.
The Dominican team, coached by Calipari himself, will have 12 players, including Al Horford, Francisco Garcia, and Charlie Villanueva.
According to Ticketmaster, tickets will go on sale Friday morning. Calipari also tweeted, Last thing. I will tweet the pre-sale passcode for tickets to the Dominican National Team exhibition game on Friday morning at 8 am ET."
Boston Celtics
And if youre worried about Rondos elbow, he looked pretty comfortable bending it earlier this week.
Rondo could be hitting the books this fall if he isnt hitting the court for the Celtics. On Thursday night Calipari tweeted:
I've heard from a few players that plan to enroll in school for the fall semester & also I'll tell u about my Friday special treat.
John Wall (@jimmywa11), Rajon Rondo (@rajonrondo) & Eric Bledsoe (@ebled24) all plan to enroll in the fall if the lockout continues. Kaboom!
Delonte West in Like a Lion
What do you get Delonte West for his 28th birthday? A lion cake, of course.
The crew at SLAM wrote: When one of Delonte Wests teammates celebrates their born day, he usually designs them a custom cake. So its fitting that today, on his 28th birthday, Wests family surprised him with a personalized cake from Creative Cakes Inc.
Click through the slideshow to check out Wests birthday cake.
Before West celebrated his birthday on Tuesday, he released a video of two songs from his upcoming debut mixtape, Lockout. SLAM had the preview of Its Bout 2 Go Down and Mr. Magnificent.
Shaqs Top Ten
There is always something interesting to find on Shaquille O'Neal's Twitter page, and this week he linked to "Shaq's Celebrity Top Ten Playlist" on YouTube. O'Neal, or rather his own mini-me, previewed his ten favorite videos, ranging from career highlights to pranks caught on tape to moments from his comedy shows. Always the entertainer, he leaves viewers with an extra performance at the end.
Celtics Tweet of the Week
@JaJuanJohnson: "HustleHard"
Birthdays of the Week
Gary Payton, who donned number 20 for the Celtics in the 2004-05 season, turned 43 on July 23former Celtic-turned-Laker Rick Fox celebrated his 42 on July 24Nenad Krstic, one of the first NBA players to sign overseas this summer, turned 28 on July 25Delonte West, the recipient of the unique birthday cake noted above, turned 28 on July 26Former Celtic Semih Erden, who was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers last season, turned 25 on Thursday.
This Week in NBA History
On July 27, 1993, Reggie Lewis passed away at 27 years old. The Celtics selected Lewis out of Northeastern University with the 22nd overall pick in the 1987 NBA Draft. He averaged 17.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in six seasons with the Celtics. Dime Magazine compiled a series of commemorative videos looking back on Lewis career.
Jessica Camerato is on Twitter at http:twitter.com!JCameratoNBA.